


Balance: Retold

by Sirdi (Aunder)



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-01-31 01:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 39,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21437668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aunder/pseuds/Sirdi
Summary: A retelling of the thrilling story told by The Adventure Zone with new characters.AKA I'm running a Balance Campaign and the players gave my permission to post it here for you all to read and be entertained by.Today: Here There Be Gerblins - Goblin Arrows.TAZ: Balance and its characters belong to Griffin, Justin, Travis, and Clint McElroy. Duh.The PC's belong to their players of course as well. I'm just the messenger ; ).
Kudos: 4





	1. 1: Here There Be Gerblins - Goblin Arrows

**Author's Note:**

> So this story is a copy-paste retelling of our campaign into here, I'm going to try my hardest to make it clear what's happening but if not feel free to ask questions!

**The four of you, Grymm, Samuel, Robert, and Airen – met in Neverwinter about a month ago, and since then have done a few jobs together. One night in a tavern, over drinks with a dwarf known as Gundren Rockseeker, learn of an exciting opportunity. He describes to you what he calls “the last job you’ll ever need to take.” Pretty clearly implying great riches, and not great death. When you try to press him on the matter, he refused to tell you anymore, instead offering you a trial run of sorts.** **  
  
He's asked you to bring a wagon load of provisions to the rough-and-tumble settlement of Phandalin, a couple of days' travel southeast of the city. Gundren was clearly excited and more than a little secretive about his reasons for the trip, only saying that he and his brothers had found "something big," and that he'd pay you ten gold pieces each for escorting his supplies safely to Barthen's Provisions, a trading post in Phandalin. He then set out ahead of you on horseback, along with a warrior escort named Barry Bluejeans, claiming he needed to arrive early to "take care of business."  
  
You've spent the last few days following the High Road south from Neverwinter, and you've just recently veered east along the Triboar Trail. You've encountered no trouble so far, but this territory can be dangerous. Bandits and outlaws have been known to lurk along the trail.  
  
“You are now all on the road! This is where we find our heroes. Right now.”**

"...So, that was the first time I ever tried mash-ed potatoes." Grymm had finally finished her long and pointless story about...something. Surely, it wasn't important. Much like the plethora of other stories she had regaled the party with on the long journey, it had no point or linear direction. It was something to fill the time for a bored eleven-year-old who didn't think to use every moment to prepare for what was to come.

Grymm is sitting on the forward-most wooden support for the wagon's canvas cover, putting her only slightly higher than whoever is sitting in the driver's seat. Her sparkling violet eyes search the long dirt road ahead of the wagon and - after failing to find some sign of an end to their journey - she props her elbows on her knees and rests her chin in her hands. "Are we almost there yet?"

"For the two hundred and thirty-seventh time, the answer remains no."  
Airen does his best to suppress a smile as he glances up at his young traveling companion. "Though we are getting closer." He reaches into his backpack and produces an apple and a small paring knife. "Here, fill your mouth with some food and enjoy the rest of the ride." As he speaks, he cuts off a slice of the fruit and offers it to Grymm.

"Ooh! You've been giving me an apple after every one of my stories." Grymm disregards the obvious attempt to silence her and takes a loud, crunching bite from the apple slice. "You musht realdy like my shtoriesh, huh?" she continues, spewing bits of apple with each word. "I could tell you a few more. I have hundreds; like the time I found a really pretty stone behind the stinky house on that one dark road."  
  
She finishes the rest of the apple slice, pushing her silvery hair behind one of her ears.

The Dude lounged in the driver's seat of his mobile home, well lounged as much as he could anyway. It had been a while since Bob had driven his wagon in his full heavy armor, and it wasn't all that comfortable, but he had heard tales of bandits and outlaws robbing folks on the Triboar Trail, 'Better safe than sorry' he thought.  
  
It was, however, good to be out in the open again, breathing the fresh air. The last month working with this motley crew of spell slingers had been fun, and all but city living just wasn't for him. The little tiefling girl Grymm had immediately "called shotgun," (whatever that meant) and scurried into his wagon before they departed.  
  
Airen, who had become sort of her defacto guardian, had grumbled something and gone in with her. The Dude insisted that his wagon lead, his eyes are sharp and well accustomed to travel, he was sure if there were any danger he would be first to spot it.  
  
That left Sam, the grumpiest of his companions, to drive the supply wagon they had been charged with delivering. He looked over his shoulder leaning to the side to check on him.  
  
"How's it going back there?" he called out.  
  
The Dude lit his pipe and went back to keeping his eyes on the trail, trying to not be to distracted by the landscape around him, 'no time to stop and paint right now' he lamented.  
  
Bob's two current employees (because that is how he thought of his horses, not as property or pets), Titanium and Midnight continued a steady mile eating trot towards Phandalin, they were commenting on the smell of apples and hoping that some would be left for them when we stopped for camp.

‘How did I get myself into this?’ Sam thought to himself.

He'd shown up to this little escort mission a few minutes later than everyone else. Of course, being fashionably late meant that he was volunteered to drive the cart. He'd never driven a cart before, he had no idea what he was doing. The old man, what did he call himself? Oh yes, The dude, whatever that meant. He'd given Sam a very quick lesson on how to drive a cart. He hadn't crashed it yet so as far as he was concerned he was doing great, or at least that's what he told himself. In reality, he was gripping the reins so tightly that his knuckles were white. He was doing his best to focus, but all he could hear was that little girl in the back telling stories about lord knows what. He was gritting his teeth and doing his best not think of murder. That's when the old man called out to him.  
  
"Everything. Is. Great." He said through gritted teeth.

The tension in Sam's response to Mr. Dude did not go unnoticed by the young girl. She swallowed the rest of the apple slice with a loud _gulp _and scooted down from the arched wooden support of the wagon to lower her rear into the proper seat between Airen and Samuel. There was a noticeable void of a conversation after Sam's response that made Grymm uncomfortable. She turned to stare at him, slowly inching her head to the side so she could get a clearer look at his stern facial features. She wiggled her nose in thought and decided that breaking the silence was her specialty.

"Hey...hey, just wanted to say you're doing great. Before meeting you three, I had never ridden on a wagon before. It's pretty exciting! And-and, just look at that view," she outstretched her arms to the open, rut-ridden path in front of them, "We are out of Neverwinter! I've never seen so many trees in my entire life! What's that called?" She pointed her finger at a small berry bush on the side of the path as the wagon trudged by. "No wait, what's _that?_" She annoyingly continued, her finger pointed at a squirrel as it scurried into a nearby pine tree. "It looks like a rat with a biiiiig bushy tail."  
  
Believe it or not, over the course of the past month Grymm had never been this irritating before. The excitement of leaving Neverwinter for the first time was almost too much for her to handle. She had been pulled out of the dark of her home alley and thrust into a world bursting with color and light of the likes she had never seen in her entire short span of life. During the trip, she had often become overwhelmed with emotion. Her eyes would glisten with the hint of tears - not from grief or sorrow - but from happiness sprinkled with a suppressed, lingering fear.  
  
  


**You've been on the Triboar Trail for about half a day. As you come around a bend, the woods begin to press close to the trail here, with a steep embankment and dense thickets on either side. You, the Dude, spot two dead horses sprawled about fifty feet ahead of you, blocking the path. Each has several black-feathered arrows sticking out of it.**

**  
**As they rounded the corner the dude was horrified at the sight before him, innocent animals shot, left for dead!  
  
In shock, his smoking pipe fell from his mouth. He caught it before it could burn him, and put his fingers to his lips for a loud whistle. He tugged on the reins to stop his wagon and leap from his seat.  
  
"Avert your eyes ladies" he said to his horses as he rushed by, "there's been an attack!" he yelled over his shoulder as he sprinted towards to fallen beast. He probably should have thought of something better to say, he probably should have waited to go with the others, he may very well be running into a trap the thought briefly occurred to him.  
  
As he ran, the dude's eyes and staff begin to glow a deep emerald as he draws upon the power of his surroundings. 'ooohhh somebody gonna get a hurt... real bad'

Looking over the horses, you see that the arrows hit the organs right on. They've been dead for about a day now, just starting to stink.

"Ok… they're gone," he coughed, trying to keep from throwing up. 'That was pretty stupid'

Grymm's head suddenly jolts to the side, looking to the path ahead. It was difficult to see much past Bob's wagon but she heard the shout clear as day. 'Did he say attack!?' the question in her mind was quickly swarmed by a million-and-a-half other thoughts, mostly pertaining to the danger they now found themselves in. She quickly reached down for the small, patchwork backpack near her bare feet and fumbled, only for a second, to find a small bit of copper wire. She twisted it around her finger all the way to the base of her sharp, pointed fingernail and thrust the finger in Bob's direction. She then cupped her hands around her mouth as if whispering a secret.

_'Um, Hi Mr. Dude-sir. Are you alright? Is someone attacking you? We can help, probably!'_

**The Dude hears a soft whispering in his ear from young Grymm, who to her relief, finds the spell goes off without a hitch.**

Airen braces himself against the wagon frame as the vehicle lurches to a sudden halt. ‘An attack? What's going on here?’ He thinks to himself as he grabs his longbow from its resting place inside the wagon and stands up, doing his best to get a view of whatever has caused this commotion. As he stands, he rests a hand on Grymm's shoulder and spares a quick glance in her direction. Though the young tiefling has proven herself capable in the prior jobs the group had done for Gundren before this journey, Airen has grown to feel protective of her nonetheless.  
  
As a moment passes without hearing more from up ahead, he calls out to The Dude, "What's going on up there?"

Sam heard the voice of the small tiefling girl behind him, trying to give him some encouragement. While her random ramblings were, at best annoying, and at worst, a healthy distraction, he couldn't fault her for trying. Despite her constant flow of words that he was trying his best to ignore, he had actually started to relax, just a little bit. That's when he heard the shouting up ahead from the old man. "Wonderful." He muttered under his breath. He did his best to stop the cart and see what was happening up ahead.

**Grymm, while Airen and Sam look up ahead to the front, y** **ou spy, with your little eyes, the tops of two Goblins beginning to creep out from the bushes up by the Dude.**

Having stopped the cart, Sam takes a minute to take a deep breath and try to relax for a moment. "Hey! What's going on?" he shouts towards the old man.

Grymm's eyes darted to the brush as she saw the green-ish monsters starting to converge on Robert's location. A look of concern suddenly overcame her features and she inhaled a gasping breath. She didn't seem to even notice Airen's touch as she cupped her hands around her mouth again. This time, the words erupted from her lips along with the echo through Robert's mind. "Booger-monsters! Green monsters in the trees!" She pointed her finger towards the brush, still wrapped in the copper wire, showing the direction of the goblins.  
  
She looked up to Airen and abruptly noticed the comforting hand on her shoulder, "We have to help him!" She hopped down from the wagon and after landing in a puff of dust, the metal scrape of her dagger being unsheathed rang through the air. She held it out in front of her in a quivering hand.

Sam looked over in the direction she was pointing, he couldn't see anything, but she clearly looked distressed. He pulls his wand out its small holster in his robe and mutters something to himself while twirling it around. A faint arcane shimmer seems to surround his whole body. He stares over in the direction of the old man, watching, waiting.

On bended knee, his hand covering his mouth and nose from the stench, the dude finished reciting a short prayer for the murdered animals  
  
_Woah Woah ... first off little lady, 'Mr. Dude' is my father (probably) I am THE dude, you may also call me el duderino, or his dudeness'_ he replied in thought, "and secondly**"** he said out loud, "I see them."  
  
The dude rose to his feet and point an outstretched palm to the bushes on the side of the road as a beam of holy radiance descended upon the rustling sound, before turning to the other rustling sound, glowing staff in hand.  
  
"I take it you're the ones who left these folks out here to rot," he said with thinly veiled anger "bad move, little green dudes"

Airen's gaze follows Grymm's outstretched finger toward the treeline, but he is unable to make out the shapes of the advancing creatures. Nonetheless, as soon as Grymm leaps from the cart, Airen follows in hot pursuit, his longbow raised and aimed toward the supposed direction of their attackers.

**At Grymm's shout the Goblins swivel towards the sound, dodging Airen's arrows as they lock on to the trio down the road. One in the back though is not so lucky, catching the full brunt of the Dude's Sacred Flame and burning into a Sacred Goblin Crisp.**

With a satisfying sizzle, Robert knew that his spell had hit the mark on the furthest goblin, he didn't know how many there were and he didn't want to give these bandits a chance to coordinate a counter-attack so he grasped his staff in both hands and ran towards the nearest one he could see and took a swing at the center of mass of the green horse murdering bastards with as much weight as he could with his nature-infused great club.

**Bob hits the goblin literally head-on. Bashing in the side of the Goblins now considerably weaker skull as it falls to the ground. The other goblin pauses to look at you, fear in its eyes.**

Grymm held the dagger directly in front of her with both hands, tip pointed at the group of goblins as they turned towards her. Noticing that she had attracted their attention, she let out a tiny squeak and closed both of her eyes, ready to stab anything that came close. Then, as the holy light burned away the sins (and everything else) of the farthest goblin, she cracked one peeking eye open. She then shifted the point of her dagger in the direction of the second furthest goblin just as his head was caved in by The Dude's staff.  
Grymm was starting to recognize a pattern. She slowly lowered the dagger to a less threatening position but still pointed it in front of her in case the last goblin got any ideas. "W-wow. I guess you guys really know what you're doin', huh?" she muttered. She had seen them hold their own in fights over the past month, but never with such brutal efficiency.

Sam's eyes wandered between the cart and the commotion going on just ahead of him on the road. The others had rushed ahead to help out the old man. He couldn't see exactly what happened, but there was a flash of magic for sure. It seemed like they had it handled. Rather than rush in there, Sam took a moment to look around the cart and see if he could see any goblins nearby, waiting to sneak in while the others were distracted.

**Sam looks around carefully for any more goblins, but sees nothing out of the ordinary besides the two corpses of the goblins the Dude so efficiently ** **killed.**

Sam decides he'd rather be safe than sorry, and he's going to stay by the cart and just keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

Watching the second goblin go down, Airen moves up alongside The Dude. "Good work Dude. Keep your eyes open for more of them though. In my experience with Goblins, there are always more..."  
  
Airen keeps his bow drawn and turns around slowly to survey the sides of the road, looking out for more Goblins or some sign of where they might have come from.

**Airen, you hold your bow pointed at the bushes, and at the sight of a green ear poking through you let an arrow fly. You and the Dude hear a quiet: "Oof". And then it's quiet.** **  
**  
**Seeing all of this, the remaining Goblin decides on a tactical retreat into the brush.**

Grymm watched then as the Goblin attempted his retreat into the bushes. Her right eye began to twitch in anger. "Wh- Where do you think you're goin', HUH?!" She growled and dropped the dagger at her side, reaching over into her pack and pulling out a wooden, two-ended prong. The wood seemed to have been grown in the shape instead of carved or shaven; between the two prongs was a rubbery string with a square cloth in the middle for holding rocks. She grabbed a nearby, smooth looking stone and put it in the square. Grymm's tongue stuck out of her mouth as she aimed with one eye and she pulled the string back and let it loose. The rock shot through the air in the goblin's direction.

**The rock, while hitting the Goblin in the side of the head, does nothing but stumble him. Luckily for the rest of you, he seems to have missed his stealth check and his traipsing through the bush alerts you easily to his location.**

The goblin stumbled and thrashed loudly in the bushes just ahead of him, clearly injured and panicking. Bob looked around at his companions, Sam and Airen both vigilantly searching for additional ambush. Young Grymm checking the ground for more suitable bullets.  
  
"Ummm.... you guys don't get out of the city much huh?" He casually aimed his staff at the scrambling goblin falling through the bushes, "you're thinking about this way too much my dudes."  
  
As the cleric began looking for his smoking pipe a holy spotlight slowly narrowed as it tracked the bumbling green attacker through the brush until it became a beam of searing light.  
  
"Sometimes you just got to relax and enjoy nature you know**"** He said as he lit his pipe with a small crackling sound.

Not seeing anything else, Sam had turned his attention back to the party, who were now chasing down a last fleeing goblin. Remarkably, the goblin seemed quite lucky. He watched as the small tiefling girl launched a rock which seemed to serve nearly no purpose. The dude tried...something, Sam couldn't quite tell what he had done, other than momentarily choke on the fumes from his own pipe. He sighed. "If you want something done right, you must do it yourself.” He moved about 20 feet closet towards the struggling goblin and lifted his hand, a concentrated blast of cold shot out towards the goblin.

**The goblin in the bushes sneezes when hit. He keeps stopping to sneeze and blow his nose on leaves.**

Sam sighed in defeat upon seeing the goblin still alive. "well, at least I contributed."

Grymm looks over to Sam, a very deadpan look overtaking her features. "You call that contributing? Did you- Did you see the rock I shot at it? I basically knocked him out!" She says, exaggerating her contribution to the efforts of stopping the ambush.

Airen nocks another arrow and lets it fly at the congested goblin hoping that an arrow through the face will help clear its nasal passages. As he loses the bolt, he looks back toward Grymm and retorts, "Come now Grymm, leave poor Sam alone. He's doing his best I'm sure."

**The arrow hits the goblin through the lung straight through a gap in his armor. Cured of his freezing curse, he gives one last shiver before succumbing to the sweet embrace of death.**

Sam sees the last goblin fall, and chooses to ignore the comments of his party. "Are we done here, can we leave?"

The young girl winced as she saw the arrow strike true and the goblin plopped to the ground, hidden now by the brush. She grimaced at Airen's chastisement but realized he was probably correct and - no matter how much better she was at all this - she should be nice to Sam.

["Da da da daaa, da da DA da DAAAA!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YCN-a0NsNk) She sang victoriously, shaking her rear with a little dance. "We did it! Erm... Now what?" She asked, looking to the rest of the party. She grabbed her dagger and sheathed it at her side and shoved her RadBlaster back in her pack before she slowly made her way over towards the Dude - but not before pinching her nose to avoid the inevitable smell. "Poor horsies..." she whined.

Sam heads back to the cart and sits himself down, waiting for the party to finish...whatever it is they're doing over there.

"You know guys, I was hoping we could interrogate that last goblin," the dude lied to cover up his not finishing the last goblin, "to find out what happened to the riders of those horses."  
  
Bob walked over to the body of the nearest goblin and knelt at its side.  
  
"You aren't actually going to suggest we perform funeral rites for our ambushers are you?" Sam bemoaned  
  
"Course not, I'm looking for their wallets, they don't need money now, but we sure could. Grymm help me give em the old pat-down" The dude suggested "Why don't you and Airen check see if the horses have any packs and such... just hold your breath" he said with a chuckle remembering his incident earlier where he nearly threw up. " also, is it just me or ... do those horses look familiar to you?"

"Right..." Sam sighed. "Just let me know when you're done playing with dead things." Sam takes out a small folded piece of parchment from his robe and starts to look it over.

**Thinking back on it, Robert remembers that same symbol that is embossed on the packs on Gundren’s clothes.** **  
  
Back to the task at hand though, on the goblins he finds 5 silver pieces, a weird and kinda broken bow, some crudely made arrows and a similarly-made scimitar.  
  
When looting the bodies, Robert does stumble upon a path, clearly these goblins have been using this site for ambushes for a long time. A goblin-sized path through the bush leads straight into the forest.**

Grymm reluctantly goes to help Robert with thumbing through the Goblin's items. "Ugh, Gross!" She says, pulling out a bag of silver coins that - for some reason - was wet. She flicks her wrist with the bag in it and mumbles a phrase: "Majestim Clenaris." In a flash of light, the bag is completely cleaned by Prestidigitation and she hands it to Robert. "I hate booger monsters...The worst!" She then peers over at Sam, her violet eyes narrowing in a glare. "Oh what? You afraid of dead boogers?" She sticks out her forked tongue at him, teasingly. She looks back at the sad scene of the dead horses now and shakes her head. "Familiar? Ummm well, they are horses. Duh! Of course they are familiar. We've all seen horses before."

"No no Grymm, not just any horses, I think we have seen _these_ horses before," Bob said Holding up the symbol embossed packs from the goblins. "It looks like our very employer, who was on this same road about a day ahead of us, met with our booger monsters here first."  
  
"I reckon we should go save em," He pointed a thumb over his shoulder to the goblin's trail. "It's the right thing to do and before any grumpy grouches start saying otherwise," the dude not so discreetly eyed Samuel "need I remind said hypothetical surly spell slingers, that without Mr. Rockseeker alive and well we won't be paid for our endeavors at all."  
  
He turned to Airen and winked, "who knows, we might even get a bonus, whaddya say?"

Sam sighs and folds the paper up, putting it back in his pocket. "Well, if Mr. Rockseeker is involved then I suppose we should go after him."

Grymm squints her eyes to get a closer look at the symbol held up by The Dude and finally an expression of realization brightens her facial features. "Oooooh, now I get it." She smiles brightly, beaming her sharp devil's teeth at him. "I bet there's going to be more of these butt-sniffers further up the trail so we should be ready for 'em. But, what do we do with the wagons?" She raises her hands towards the wagon near to Sam, her eye-catching the folded paper. "What's that? A map? Is it a crossword? Is it a maze? Can I draw on it?" Her questions continued incessantly as she awaited the rest of the party to catch up with The Dude and herself.

Annoyed, Sam replies. "I'll tell you what it is, it's none of your business."

"Now now, Gyrmm uncle Sammy makes a good point, Let me offer you some Guidance. It's only nosy if you are not sharing the information that you gather." he said with a wink before stepping between her and their wizard companions and began prattling on in his most boring of lecture voices.  
  
"The girl makes a good point about the wagons though gentlemen if we should follow the path into the forest to rescue our employer we will have to leave them unattended but I have been in similar situations before, I can camouflage the carts just off of the roadside. I have done it for my wagon and this one is less than half the size it shouldn't take long to do both. I will just have to speak to horses on staying out of sight but within the general area until we get back. Airen I belive some bribery apples may be required."

Grymm glared a sharp, violet gaze at Sam. "You never let me have any fun, you know that? Hmph." She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout that sunk so deeply she could almost trip on it. She turned around and began storming off down the path, following the makeshift trail to their ultimate destination. "'None of your business'" she mocked in a deep, sullen tone that was not unlike Sam's voice. "When I'm a big, famous hero I'm not gonna' share any of my toys with you, Sammy." She whined. However, the words of Bob rang through her mind in a way that would surely guide her future actions. As much as she refused to admit it, she often heeded The Dude's words - that is, whenever she found herself able to pay attention through the whole lecture.

Sam steps up next to Robert. He sighs, "This is why I don't have kids."

Bob finished covering up the wagons, as he noticed Grymm wandering off by herself.  
  
"Is that really why though Sammy?" The dude said re-lighting his pipe "I thought it was the whole, you know, relationship thing," he said with a smirk  
  
It took him a moment to realize, as he smoked and chatted with Sam that Grymm was out of sight down the goblins ambush trail.  
  
"Oh shit ... the kid." He grabbed Sam and dragged him after Grymm down the path.

Grymm continued stomping down the path, arms folded over her chest. After a few minutes, her arms dropped and her pouting lips began to tighten into a worried crease. Her silver brows lowered and her overall expression held an indication of fear. She looked behind her at the empty path; she was certain they were right behind her but perhaps she had stormed off too quickly. She began humming a low tune to keep herself from giving in to the fear. She had been alone plenty of times before, this was no different. "I kn-know you guys are back there. You can stop hiding now!" She shouted down the path behind her, hoping her pause in motion would allow them to catch up and find her.

Before Sam knew it, Bob had a surprisingly tight grip on his arm and was dragging him down the path. "What about Airen? Oh for the love of Oghma!"

**When Grymm makes her exit into the bushes, she doesn't pay much attention to the path around her as she pouts away. Walking right into a snare that swings her by her leg 10 feet up into the air.**

Grymm let's out a quick, high-pitched squeak as she is lifted quickly into the air and sways back and forth slowly. "Nnghn...great. This is NOT what I meant when I said we should hang out more..." She tries to wiggle free impotently and finally gives up after a few seconds. Her pink cheeks begin to turn a darker red as blood flows to them. She grabs at the small knife in her backpack and attempts to lean up and cut the rope but swiftly decides against that action. Dropping ten feet on her noggin would not do much to help her situation. "Saaaam! Airennnn! B-Booooob!" She called out, hoping they would be able to hear her.

Bob comes running down the goblin path grumpy wizard in tow. He stops for a second as he hears the faints sounds of a struggle coming from up ahead.  
  
"B-Booooob!" Grymm cries out in the distance  
  
"You heard that Sammy, she's in trouble!" before Samuel can answer bob tugs him by the arm and the two stumbled onward toward the child's cry. "were coming kiddo!!" he calls out  
  
As they bend a sharp corner on the path and cut through some bushes they reach the scene of Grymm bound and hanging upside down from a tree several feet in the air.  
  
As the pair make eye contact with the theifling girl, sam seeing that she is not in any immediate danger erupts in laughter at her predicament. He doesn't seem to notice as Bob positions him directly below the hanging girl.  
  
"Just say calm, we'll get you down from there," He says  
  
" I am calm..."  
  
"Just relax, ok! It's gonna be fine... I'm sure we aren't being surrounded or anything..." Robert cuts her off in a far more concerned voice than her own  
  
As he finds a good spot to aim at the rope around Grymm's foot he goes up to the giggling Sammy patting him on the shoulder and offers a bit of advice "Just bend at the knees to absorb the weight" then hurries back to the spot with the best angle.  
  
"Wait ... what?!" Sam says only now realizing the dude's plan  
  
Robert aims an outstretched hand at the spot where the rope hung connected to the tree and whispers a short prayer to the nature god.

"Hang on, I'm not sure you should just**-"** He was cut off by the sound of holy flames and the snapping of a rope. Sam tries his best to catch her on short notice.

**The radiant light from Bob's spell burns through the rope in seconds, dropping Grymm down into Sammy's arms, who, it ends up, is standing a little too off to actually catch her. Grymm drops right onto Sammy's head, taking them both down to the ground harshly.**

"Wait, Bob I-" She was interrupted by the snap of the rope and gravity's sudden tug on her small form. Another high-pitched squeak exploded from her lips as she fell directly on top of Sam's head and landed in a jumble with him on the ground. She reached up and rubbed at a bleeding cut in her head that already had formed into a knot. Her blue and purple eyes suddenly burned a violent red as she balled up her small fists and began punching Sam's leg without even getting up. "YOU DOOFUS! You're supposed to c-catch me! I could have landed on the ground and it would've been softer! WHY is your HEAD so HARD!?" She kept pounding at his leg in anger and name-calling.

Sam silently laid on the ground. His everything hurt. Particularly his leg. He didn't say anything, he just closed his eyes and silently wished he had a bottle of whiskey.

**The three of you take a moment to rest, Bob checks out Grymm's head first, making sure everything is okay before checking Sammy out as well. Once that's done, Sammy and Grymm have regained their footing so to speak, you continue down the path.**

After a bit of a rest, Grymm has some time to calm herself down. She reached over and playfully punched at Sam's arm. "Sorry for landing on your head. But seriously, you should like see a doctor or something. I don't think a heads supposed to be that hard." She grins her pointed teeth at him and finally stands up. She dusts off her white dress that was still covered in grass stains, mud, and dirt, and looks to Bob. "Let's go! I'll stay err... Towards the middle of the group now."

Sam let out a heavy sigh. "Honestly, I think I'm pretty lucky that your tailbone didn't pierce my skull. He rubs his head. "It certainly left a bruise though..."

**As the three of you make your way down the path, Bob notices a covered pit that he guides you around carefully. Once you reach the end, you come across a large cave in a hillside five miles from the scene of the ambush. A shallow stream flows out of the cave mouth, which is screened by dense briar thickets. A narrow dry path leads into the cave on the right-hand side of the stream.**

After about an hour and a half of walking to traverse 5 miles, Grymm let's out a huff. "I'm super tired of walking... Does anyone want to carry me?" She bats her eyelashes at each member of the party but becomes easily distracted as she notices the mouth of the cave. "OooOooOooh! A cave! Do you think that's where they took Bumdrin or whatever? You think there's monsters in there? You think Bumbird is dead? Are we going in?" She prattles on before anyone can even respond to her questions.

The dude grabs Gyrmm by the back of her top as she begins wandering towards the cave entrance.

"What happened to promising to stay with the group oh great Mattermancer?" She looks back at him with a shy grin “The way I see it, we got three options, one, we can storm in together spells blazing. Two, we can try to sneak in or three, we can send in a scout to check out the cave first." the dude suggested.

"Personally I'm not so, stealthy in my armor but I'm sure I can find a forest friend willing to help," he said looking around the surrounding woodlands, “But seeing as my last plan went over about as well as my Pan speech at LuteCon," he looks over at Samuel still rubbing his head, "Figure I'll let you guys decide."

Grymm taps her nose in thought. "Yea' I know I said I would stay towards the middle but like...I'm actually really good at being sneaky if you want me to go in and take a look! Trust me, I've practiced a lot when I was ummm... Helping some of the market stalls reduce their product waste." She grins her sharp-toothed smile, attempting to look as innocent as possible.

Sam was rubbing his head. "Oh sure, let's let the troublemaker go and wander off on her own again. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that." He shoots a glare at Grymm.

"Trouble-maker? Who, me? You shut the cluck up, Sammy! I'm very, very sneaky thank you very much." She flicks out her forked tongue at him and makes a raspberry noise. "I'm gonna sneak in, see what I can see, you guys watch those booger-monsters and make sure they don't see me." Grymm uses her hands to lift up the ends of her dress as she crouches low and begins sneaking into the cave.

**Grymm sneaks past the goblins, doing unnecessary but stylish rolls around the thickets and goblin post into the cave.**

Sam Sighed. "So should we just kill these goblins?" He asks the dude.

Grymm towards the entrance of the cave, mischief evident in her expression. She crouches down near the stream and whispers to the water, "Please, pretty stream of water. I need your help."as she casts Shape Water. The water nearest to the two goblins outside takes a humanoid form, it's hand outstretched towards the green duo as she wraps the same copper wire as before around her finger and points to the nearest outside goblin. She whispers into his mind with as much of a commanding voice as she can muster, "I am the spirit of this forest. Take your ally and flee this place or I shall call upon the trees to tear you limb from limb!" It was a plan she had quickly concocted hoping to scare the goblins away so her friends could join her inside while avoiding unnecessary violence.

**Sam and Bob watch skeptically as a watery figure emerges from the stream and chases the two goblins running into the brush. They share a look as Grymm pokes her head around the thicket to wave them in.**

"Welp ... guess now we don't have to," he said with genuine surprise to Sam "Always been a live and let live kinda guy myself." After checking to see that the coast was indeed clear, Bob straps up his shield and heads into the cave to meet Grymm.

**Looking around, Bob doesn't see much else as they enter the cave behind Grymm. From the side, he does hear the low growls and panting of dogs, and from further down he the soft chatter of goblins. Nothing is coming towards them at the moment though.**

"Well now it's just not worth it." Sam remarks, as he follows the dude into the cave.

Just inside the cave mouth to your left, a few uneven stone steps lead up to a small, dank side chamber on the east side of the passage. The cave narrows to a steep fissure at the far end and is filled with the stench of animals. Savage snarls and the sounds of rattling chains greet your ears where two wolves are chained up just inside the opening. Each wolf's chain leads to an iron rod driven into the base of a stalagmite.  
  
Going forward the main passage from the cave mouth climbs steeply upward, the stream plunging and splashing down its west-side. In the shadows ahead, a side passage leads west across the other side of the stream.

"I'm gonna be all sneaky-sneaky and see what's up in that passage to the left. If ya' want, you two can handle the cute-but-scary wolfies. Just beeee quieeet!" She insisted in a whisper. She then began sneaking up towards the west passage, attempting to keep her bare feet on the wet stones instead of splashing through the water. Her almond-shaped eyes twinkled a dim lilac in the darkness, allowing her to see most of what was in front of her. She used her advantage to keep as far away from any goblins as possible and dart into the passage to her left.

**In the shadows of the ceiling to the north as you pass by, you can just make out the dim shape of a rickety bridge of wood and rope crossing over the passage ahead of you. Another passage intersects this one, twenty feet above the floor.**

**  
On the top of this bridge, you see Grymm, a goblin who does not see you yet, standing guard. Deciding to deal with that later, you peek down a tunnel that leads into, what you think, is some sort of Goblin break room.**

**This large cave is divided in half by a ten-foot-high escarpment. A steep natural staircase leads from the lower portion to the upper ledge. The air is hazy with the smoke of a cooking fire, and pungent from the smell of poorly cured hides and unwashed goblins. Five of them are down below by the fire, and one is up on the upper-ledge.  
  
But most importantly, Grymm, you see two people, a dwarven woman and a human man, sitting tied up on the upper ledge behind the goblin.**

Dina struggled in the dark cave, searching for some sort of weakness in her bonds. Surely they had no idea when they bound the dwarven woman that she was far stronger than most of her sex. Breaking ropes wasn’t exactly a challenge, at least if they were tied as poorly as goblins tended to do.  
  
But that meant little unless she acted in the right moment. There was a guard nearby. Would she be able to break free and push him off the ledge? Could she get to her weapons...or ANY weapons? How she would love to teach these beasties the meaning of fear. Or retribution.  
  
But for now she waited. And searched the area for any sign or clue that she could use to her advantage.

**When looking around Dina doesn't find much different from her previous assessment. Barry Bluejeans, the other mercenary that Gundren Rockseeker had hired to escort him to Phandalin was beaten much worse than you had, and is barely conscious. The goblins down below are on break, and have been eagerly gathering around a cooking leg of . . . something. The only goblin even half-paying attention at all is the one you've deemed a leader of sorts. He's been giving any orders that haven't come from the "big boss" as they put it, and the other goblins seem to respect, or at least fear him. The chest holding you, and Barry's weapons is just 7 feet to your left, but it was locked soon after you arrived.** **  
There is some commotion coming from the entrance from the wolves they've threatened to feed you both to, but the goblins didn't seem to pay it much mind.**

Well, it was now or never. The goblins were rat bastards but they were not very bright. They’d left only one guard and he’d gotten close to the edge. He could likely be tipped over...if only she could get free and give him a fond farewell.  
  
Dina used her considerable strength to try and break free, doing so easily. Dina was certain that she had made a bit of noise, but the guard remained at his post. Oh well. His loss.  
  
Moving behind him, she focused all her strength into shoving him off the ledge and knocked him hard enough to send him arse over tit into the great stony beyond. Moradin’s beard, that felt good. But it was also going to raise suspicion. Dina quickly rushes over to the nearby chest and attempted to force it open.

  
  
"So can you like, talk to these wolves?" Sam asks Bob, partly seriously and partly mockingly

With his almost supernatural perception, Robert just barely heard some kind of commotion up ahead.  
  
"Of course, I can Mr. Sassifrey" Bob said with a glint in his eyes, " you leave these puppers to the dude and go check on our mischievous little friend."  
  
Bob reach into his pack and pulled out some dried meat from his rations. He approached the wolves cautiously staying out of the reach of their chains  
  
He waved the meat in the air, making a kissing sound with his mouth to get the wolves attention, took a small bite from one to show that it was safe and slide the meat over to the chained animals.  
  
"You guys hungry?" he said in a calming voice "I hate to see noble loveable doggos, treated like this."  
  
Once the wolves notice the meat, he attempts to reach forward and pet the beast, peeling back his helmet too so they can see his face but still in his heavy wooden armor.

"Um, are you be okay by yourself?" Sam asks. He then witnesses bob making kissy noises at the wolves. "Okay yeah, I think you'll be just fine." He heads deeper into the cave, trying to find where Grymm ran off to.

**Walking into the chamber Robert you see a third wolf further in, that comes over cautiously when he sees you offer food to the other two. All three see the food in your hand and immediately calm. The one closest to you lets you give a small rub to his head, but shies away after that.** **  
  
Sammy, you see the same goblin up on the bridge ahead that Grymm saw earlier, but in favor of following after the smol theifling go down the narrow passage she had. Coming up behind Grymm you see an odd scene. A Dwarven woman standing atop a ledge looking miffed, a human man looking rough tied up on the same ledge. A goblin on the floor below them, looking even rougher than the human man, and a hoard of 5 goblins suddenly at attention and looking straight at the Dwarven woman.  
  
Dina, you pushed the goblin off with little struggle from his side, but unable to open the chest or snatch the dagger from his hand you are weaponless. And now facing the anger of the 5 goblins on the first floor.**

Sam sighed. "Grymm. Do I even wanna know what's going on in there?" 

Well, damn.  
  
Pushing the goblin to his doom had gone pretty well. And the ropes had be torn off all right. But poor Barry was in bad shape and Dina couldn't seem to get into the chest to get her weapons.  
  
"Never managed to swipe his knife. Can't seem to open the chest and they'll be coming soon or I'd break you free myself." Her eyes narrowed. "But those little green bastards have to come up the ladder to reach us. And when they do, I'll be there to push them down or to crack their skulls with a friendly stomp. It's a terrible plan, but it's all I've got."  
  
She turned to the ladder and tried to ready herself in case any of the beasts came this way. "If this doesn't work, Barry, it's been a pleasure. But I don't plan on going down easily. Or at all."  
  
Well, sometimes life threw you in a dung storm so bad you didn't even have a weapon to face down your enemies.  
  
If you expect fairness in combat, yer pissin' in the wind as dad always said. Well, that was about right. But 'Every Varrow Must Do His Duty' and if that meant punching until you had nothing left to give, then so be it.

Grymm grimaced at Sam as he approached, pointing a finger at the scene below. "I think that's Barry, I mean just look at those beautiful blue jeans. It has to be! I'm not sure who that short lady is but umm.. we should probably help!" A look of concern settled upon her face as she turned her attention back towards the scene unfolding before her. If the Dwarven lady was bound up much like Barry, she must be an ally, at least for the time being.  
  
She readied herself for battle, which consisted of grabbing some loose rocks around her and setting up her component pouch to be easily accessible. She grabbed her RadBlaster and looked back to Samuel with a quirked eyebrow. "Well!? Do something, lazy bones!"

**Barry mumbles something incoherent from his spot, in response to Dina, but otherwise doesn't do much.** **  
  
One of the goblins, however, (A) draws back a short bow and fires it at Dina while another (B), makes a run for the ladder.  
The arrow goes flying above your head, Dina, and the other reaches the top while you duck. It takes a swing at you that you dodge easily.**

Grymm grabs one of the daggers at her side with a huff and says, "Well I guess I'll show ya' how it's done." With a deft flick of her wrist, she throws the dagger at the goblin who had just shot an arrow at Dina. "Stop that, you stinky bag of barf!" She then quickly ducks behind the small natural stone ramp, just in case an arrow comes her way.

**The goblin B just barely dodges the dagger, diving to the side. And while he’s recovering another takes aim at Dina, this time hitting her in the arm when she raises it to block. Another goblin (D) makes a break for the ladder, and the last€ for Grymm where he can see her standing now.** **  
Gob-D makes a hopeless swing at Dina, almost hitting his comrade beside him. The other slashes Grymm across the chest, stumbling her back into Sammy.**

Grymm lets out a squeak of pain as a large slash appears across her chest, slicing open the lacey frills of her dress as a dark crimson stain begins to douse the gown. Her eyes flutter a bit before closing and her weight falls back onto Samuel. She is unconscious.

Oh that did it!  
These goblin pests thought they were tough? They were going to see tough even if it meant her death in proving it. Dina looked to them and screamed to the sky, calling down the wrath of the ancients upon them.  
Seeing red, she turned toward one of the sword-wielding ones and readied her fists at him. He was going to feel this.

**The goblin jumps back, into his friend, but dodging your attack.**

**Down below, the goblin Dina pushed over the edge stands up, rubbing his back and taking in the situation.**

Bob took the time to complete the ritual, he emptied out the rest of the meat from his rations for the hungry-looking dogs and used the end of his staff to slowly pry up the iron spike that held the chained wolves in place. As the ritual completed he sat and spoke with the animals.  
  
"Hi, nice to meet you guys. The name is Bob, but you can call me the dude," he introduced himself "what are you guys called?" he asked  
  
The wolves stared at him and each other in silence for a moment  
  
"Don't tell me these goblin bastards didn't even give you names?!" the dude said outraged, though to anyone else it sounded like howls and barks  
  
He pondered for a moment before patting eat wolf on the head separately as he went to each of them, "you seem like a Berdon, you're definitely a Cergio and how does Russel sound to you?" he asked the wolves in turn.  
  
“So, I'm setting you guys free for sure but I won't have the time to take those chains off of you just yet. My friends are here with me and we are here to rescue our current employer from your former masters. At least one of them I am sure by now has gotten herself into massive trouble and I have to go them. If you guys come help me though I can see about taking those chains off after. It would pretty hard for you boys to go hunting elk rattling like that. So how about it? I warn you though we may have to fight the goblins that kept you here. If you're ok with that or even looking for some revenge yourself my friends and I would be glad for the help."  
  
The dude gave the wolves a moment to decide but noticed the growing sound of a commotion deeper into the cave. He would be needed soon he was sure of it.

Russel shifts, taking a few steps towards you. "In return for Yeemik's death we help."  
Cergio makes a whine, shaking his head. "Klaarg has been kind to us, since his arrival, but Yeemik dislikes us. Conveniently forgets our dinner."

"You boys got yourselves a deal, you point out this Yeemik fellow and he's a goner. I promise we will talk to this Klaarg chap and make sure he has a chance to leave unharmed if he wishes."  
  
Bob gathers up the chains attached the wolves collars  
  
"I can't see in the dark as you guys and I'm not quite as fast but I'll try my best to keep up," he apologized  
  
"Lead on, team Cer-Ber-Rus!!" he called as the chains go taut in his hand

Sam watched as, in little more than the blink of an eye, Grymm was slashed across the chest and collapsed. Sam's Icy exterior cracks for a moment and he begins to freak out "Oh shit! oh crap! Crap damn shit frick!" He scoops up Grymm and moves as quickly as he can away from this situation and back towards Robert. "Everything's gonna be fine, we're gonna get you back to Robert and it's all gonna be okay." He speaking to her, but also to himself a little. "Please don't be dead!" While he runs he's going to turn and fire a ray of frost at the little shit that hit Grymm.

**The Ray of Frost hits the Gob-E square on, freezing most of him over and turning him a weird shade of blue and purple.** **  
Sammy, runs almost into the small pack of wolves leading Robert to the fight. The wolves stop, sniffing the air before whining and Russel shoves his snout behind Sammy to push him towards the Dude.  
  
Gob A shoots another arrow at Dina, missing again.**

Robert barreled down the hallway half dragged by his lupine companions, nearly running into Sam carrying the downed Grymm.  
  
"Guys I got us some allies-oh god! What the hell happened" The Dude exclaimed though it was all barks and growls  
  
"Give her to me Sammy" he finally managed in common  
  
Bob rested his hand on Grymm's forehead and poured the healing power of Pan in the young devil-girl. he then turned to his wolven friends and began literally barking commands  
  
"Cergio! Berdon! team up on the one with the short bow, Russel your with me, I have to repay that goblin for hurting my friend" The dude howled as he and one of the wolves darted at the scimitar wielding half-frozen booger his staff glowing with nature-infused might as two other rushed past to attack another goblin.

**Grymm is surrounded by a holy light, as the wound on her chest slowly stops bleeding and closes up. She takes a deep, shaky breath before her body relaxes back into a peaceful sleep.** **  
  
Russel mauls the frozen goblin who tries to run but is cut down easily and immediately, meanwhile, Cergio and Berdon, ignoring your orders to attack the short bow goblin, head straight for the one standing at the bottom of the ledge, tearing into him with intensity and taking him out without a doubt in anyone's minds that he's dead.  
  
Back up on the ledge with Dina and the Gob B and D, Gob B takes another swing at Dina, missing again while the other one did a facepalm at his comrades incompetence.**

Grymm's eyes flutter open and her pupils dart around wildly. "Wh-What? Where am I?" She stood up and looked down at the large gash in the front of her dress. "Was I dead? Oh man, Thanks Bobby. That was close." She leans forward and gives him a quick hug before turning back towards the passage full of goblins. She went to her patchwork backpack and grabbed her RadBlaster. With a determined glare of anger, she pulled the slingshot back and shot it directly at Boogerman A. After taking her shot she quickly hid behind a jutting out rock in the cave's natural formation.

The rock flies forward, stopping several feet in front of Gob A, but smashing a clay cup that had fallen in the panic.  
  


**Gob C fires an arrow at one of the wolves in a panic, it just barely going over Russel's head. Gob D manages to get one more swing in at Dina before she moves to fight back again, missing instead.**

  
What the hells? Dina was going to be eaten by wolves too?  
  
Wait a second...they were turning on the goblins. Ripping them to shreds. And there were other people here. Dina was pretty sure the little once was dead, but up she came all the same. And a magic person of some sort.  
  
‘Moradin's arse, might not die today after all.’ She thought  
  
However, the goblins were most definitely going to. Even if all she had was her fist, Dina wasn't going to let them escape, so she readied another attack at the one with a sword, hoping to later steal said weapon.

**The moment Dina swings to attack is the same moment Gob D swings to hit, both miss.**

Sam was panicking as he ran towards Robert. He was bent over and taking deep breaths as Robert healed their small teifling friend. He was able to calm down finally when he saw Grymm try to use a slingshot. Again. "Okay. Alright. Okay. What are we even doing in this cave?" He looks over and sees the situation, the goblins, The dwarf, Barry. He sees the two goblins at the bottom of the ledge holding bows. "Screw these goblins!" and he casts magic missile at the two at the bottom of the ledge.

**The magic missiles hit the goblins right in the back, stumbling them both a bit and taking them by surprise. Gob-B takes the worst of the hit, falling dead in front of Dina. Gob-A seeing you attack from the distance, aims at Sammy, the arrow not even flying all the way before dropping to the ground.**

"Good job Russell, who's a good boy?" the dude said taking a moment to pat the canine's head and give him a scratch behind the ear.  
  
"As for you two, didn't I say the kill the ones with the shooty things! It seems like someone doesn't want a treat after this hunt." _Acting the alpha wasn't really his style but he knew the animals well enough to know what they respected._ "The first one to kill the next goblin earns a belly rub!!!" he literally howled winding up his magic-infused great staff to swing like a bat.  
  
As he raced toward the boogermen, lagging behind the much speedier wolves he used his moment to bring the lumber down on the goblin swinging just after Russell had lunged. Cergio and Berdon again tag-teaming the other goblin biting and tearing at the tiny humanoid.

**Bob teams with one of the wolves to attack a goblin, who dodges out of the way of Bredon, right into the Dude's waiting arms of death. The other decides running would be a good option at this point, cornering himself between Cergio and Russel. Who quickly bat him down.** **  
  
Cergio huffs at you, letting out a small growl as Bredon trots over to sniff the food on the fire. "You are not our master Sir Dude. Do not mistake our willingness to help as submission. Klaarg is and always will be our true Alpha."**

Grymm winced at the sight of the wolves tearing apart the goblins. Sure, she knew that was the way of nature, and that nature censored nothing for the faint of heart. But, it didn't make it any less grisly to watch. She tore her gaze away from the pieces left of the green man and pulled back the rubbery sling of her RadBlaster. She closed one eye and stuck out her forked tongue in concentration as she aimed at the last standing boogerman. She was going to hit this one, for sure! She _had_ to do something to help, instead of just almost dying. Wow, she almost died... She had never gotten that close before and if it wasn't for Bob, then she'd be laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood- _'No, I can't think about that. I need to focus!'_ she thought as she shot the pebble at the goblin.

**The pebble shot out across the way, landing behind the goblin but falling short of hitting him. Unphased the goblin takes another swing at Dina in a desperate attempt to live, hitting the previous wound on her arm that had just begun to scab and reopening it.**

Well, this was going a lot better! The wolves were cleaning up and the Wizard was pretty good at his magic. But not it was time to show what a warrior Dina was. She certainly wasn’t proving that so far. Perhaps being unarmed kept her off her game.  
  
Well here was hoping that luck finally changed. Dina swung away!

**The goblin looked O-O at the fist coming his way, and took it face on. Flying over the body of the other goblin and landing on top of the mauled one the wolves had attacked first.** **  
  
Barry groaned from his spot, peeking his eyes open a tad. ** **"Did we win?"** ** He asked in a croaky voice.**

At seeing the last Goblin go down with a punch, Grymm slumped into a weak pile onto the ground. Her hand instinctively went to her chest where the gash in her dress remained as she remembered the pain of almost dying. "Never...again." She huffed out, taking deep breaths between each word. She clapped her hands together weakly and rubbed her palm slowly over the open tear in the gown as she cast Mending. The dress slowly repaired itself, though it was still stained in the dark red of her blood. She didn't seem to mind, for the time being. "Some-Someone go check on Mr. Bluejeans and make sure he isn't dying."

Dina, still seething with rage, knelt over the goblin and have him a few more punches until she finally stopped and realized that she was just bloodying her hand.  
  
She got up and looked around awkwardly. ”Oh, hello there. I’m very glad that you came when you did. I thought...we were done for. I was preparing myself for Moradin’s halls. It will be good to know he’s got a few centuries to wait.”  
  
The dwarf stood up and shook the mess off her hand. “Managed to bust out of the ropes, but never could get to my weapon. Much easier with those. Names Dina. Dina Varrow. Don’t mind the weird expression on my face. That’s just kind of how I roll. When I fight. Also, um anyone have a key for the chest?”  
  
Dina walked over to Barry and tried to untie him.

Grymm came into the room, finally gathering herself enough to feel her legs again. 

"H-hi! I'm Grymm of the Alley. You did r-really good in here." She looks around the room, surveying the damage in the form of blood and viscera. "I don't see a key but we probably need to search them. They are nasty boogymen and going through their stuff is always the WORST! Oh, by the way..." She runs over to Bob and wraps her arms around his leg, giving him another hug.  
  
He could feel her small heart beating fast against him as she was still feeling the adrenaline from the fight. 

"Thanks for keepin' me alive, I thought I was a goner." She looked up to him with twinkling eyes filled with appreciation that quickly darted over towards Sam. She pulled herself from Bob's leg and walked over to Sam. She wrapped her arms around his leg and gave him a hug as well. 

"And you, for...err being there I guess. I didn't see much of what happened after..." Her words trailed off as she pulled away from the hug and looked down at the bloodstained dress. She turned her attention back towards Barry as Dina went to untie him. "You alright over there, Bee-boy? You're not lookin' so great."

**Barry made a confused look. ** **"Uh, yeah, not doin' too well on the whole health front, thanks, by the way"** ** he says to you Dina, as you easily undo the knots on his arms. ** **"I got, real, _real_ roughed up back there. Could use a heal if you got any, or like, a potion? That could work too. "**

Sam had been staring down at the two goblin corpses for several minutes, trying to get his mental bearings. His mind wandered and he thought of Luna and Rami. His thoughts were interrupted by something grabbing his leg. He looked down and saw Grymm. She said something to him, and then ran off. Sam looked back towards the corpses of the goblins. He took a couple of deep breaths. He knelt down and picked up a small rock and began to rub it with his thumb. He put his hands in his pockets and headed back towards the group. "So how on earth did you guys get stuck in a cave with a bunch of goblins?" 

**Barry shrugged. ** **"Got attacked on the road, not my best moment. Still banged up, clearly, uh, I'd like, really like to get out of this cave now? Can we do that? Is that an option? Before more goblins come back, that is. Be super great"** **  
  
And in the distance, you hear a few shouts and the sound of rushing water going by your exit.**

Dina decided that she would make introductions later if time was of the essence. She searched the leader of the goblins for a key to the chest and when she found once, she climbed back up the ladder and twisted the key in the lock. She added her pack and a bundle of javelins to her back, a laid off hand axes to her belt, and finally took out a heavy maul with dwarven markings on it that she reverently swung a few times, as if happy to hold it again.  
  
Dina then gave Barry a hand up .”Guess we have to get moving. I’ll try to make more formal introductions later. Don’t mind my bleeding on you. Just kind of a thing until we heal up again.”

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Why don't we get out of this cave and get on with our lives." Sam starts walking towards the exit of the cave.

Grymm looked between her party members and the Barry/Dina combo with an unsure expression. On the one hand, she wanted to make sure everyone made it out alive. On the other, they still had a job to do and Gundren was somewhere inside, probably being tortured by a bunch of stinky booger men and who knows what else. "What about Gundren? We can't leave him in here to die. I mean, he is the one who is paying us and also he was really nice to me. Barry, did you see where they took him?" She asked as she walked quickly with the others towards the exit.

**Barry shook his head, exiting the cave you see a goblin shouting on top of a bridge down the tunnel, the stream of water heavier than it was before, covering about an inch or so of the path. ** **"I heard Gundren was taken away by someone called the Black Spider. I have my guesses as to why. But, " ** **He does a quick look around. ** **"That's something better discussed somewhere safer, I think."**

Sam sighs and walks a few feet back into the cave entrance. "I'd just like to inform everyone that not good things are happening out here! Could my day get any worse!?" He throws his hands up in exasperation at that last sentence. He then finds a nice little bare spot on the wall and just slumps down onto the floor.

"So that pile over there was Yemic huh," the dude said to the wolves as they tore from the meat shank the goblins were cooking. He decided it best not to partake since he wasn't sure exactly what it was they had cooked.  
  
"Well, boys, it was an honor and privilege. A good hunt and you helped me save my friends but they seem to be eager to leave this place. Give my best to your alpha" Bob said getting to his feet. He offered each, in turn, a pat on the head and a bow of thanks. "And think about my offer, if ever you guys wanna go expand your range and see the world feel free to come and join us, you can bring Klaarg too if he's interested. See ya round"  
  
He picked up a short bow off of one of the goblins remains, they were small enough that he thought Grymm might be able to draw it, Pan knows she needed something better than her 'Radblaster' if they ran into trouble again.  
  
"Hey guys, wait up I didn't get a chance to check your wounds yet... hey wait up," Bob said hurrying to catch up to his companions  
  


As they exited the cave, Grymm glared back at the goblin that was shouting and jumping up and down. She grabbed one of the smooth rocks from her pack and tossed it up in the air. She then clapped her hands and thrust them forward as the rock became infused with magic and rocketed towards the goblin. "That's what you get, you....you... You poophead!" She shouted into the cave.  
Grymm made her way over to Barry as they found a place to lay him in the grass. "Can't you do something, Dude?" She asked, looking to Bob.

As the dude caught up to the others by the entrance, he saw Sammy slumped against the wall.  
  
"Come on sam let's go"  
  
"No, just leave me here to die," he said without looking up, "I think I have had enough with living"  
  
"Oh stop being so dramatic you big baby, or I will have Grymm try to catapult you out of here like that rock" He threatened  
  
Sam moves but only to lie completely on the ground "fine ... I'll be out in a minute" he sighed  
  
Bob leaves Sammy to sulk and heads out of the cave where Grymm asks him to attend to their new allies wounds  
  
"Sure thing, and Grymm, that was a nice shot with the last rock and I know you like your 'Radblaster' but try this instead" he hands her the tiny short bow, "I'm sure Airen has extra arrows back at the wagon"  
  
"Hi, I didn't get to introduce myself, I'm Bob but you can call me the Dude," He addressed Barry and Dina "Or you know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing."

Eventually, Sam decides to stop being a useless lump on the floor and he joins the rest of the party outside. "Right, What's the plan? Or do we even have a plan?"

**Barry nods, sitting up and rubbing his hand.** ** "Right uh, my name is Barry. Great to meet you, is that a kid?" ** **He asked puzzled.**

Dina was about to say something to "El Duderino" when Barry's comment caught her off guard.  
  
"A kid?"  
  
She looked over at the tiefling and did a double-take.  
  
"Moradin's arse, you weren't joking? In the dark commotion of that cave, I thought you were a gnome. Especially with all that magic. I had no idea..."  
  
The quite athletic dwarven woman moved over to Grymm and knelt down. Her entire expression changed in the blink of an eye. One moment she was the picture of fury, bashing goblin skulls her fist, and the next, she was acting like a favored aunt. Of course, the sight of her kneeling only seemed to make her look even more stout than before. And as cute as you can look with goblin blood splattered upon your face.  
  
"Oh you poor thing. And they stabbed you? Those horrible beasts have no shame!" Dina looked at the bloodstain on Grymm's outfit and shook her head. "Goodness gracious, what a crime. Dear, why are you out here by yourself? Isn't your clan...er...how do you say it here? Your...parental family unit worried bout you?"  
  
She looked back up to the Dude. "El Duderino, it is very sweet of you to offer your healing gifts. I need them, but not as much as this little one must. You can help her first. Or Barry. If we take a nap for a while I'm sure that I'll catch up."  
  
El Duderino. Interesting. Dina didn't know what that meant in human languages but it sounded almost Elven. Maybe something the funny people out in the trees did?

Sam, hearing the conversation, piped up. "Um, hi, you guys really don't wanna use the k-word. It uh..." his eyes wander down a bit "It hurts."

Grymm put both of her small hands against Dina's chest to push her away. She glared at her, then at Barry, as her eyes became endless pits of fire. Their violet sparkle melting into a raging red inferno. The trees around them began to shake as a voice much deeper than Grymm's usual bright and cheery tone echoed through the forest. It was laced with spite and malice, _"I AM NOT A KID!"_ the voice insists.  
  
Then, instead of her eyes changing back to their calm violet color, a sparkling blue light filled her vision and she suddenly stared at Dina with a dawning expression of horror. "N-n-no! I didn't mean it!" She shouts and sprints in the opposite direction. She runs head-first into Sam and wraps her arms around his leg and hides her face in his robes. "Don't let it hurt me, Sammy!" She whines, keeping her face hidden with a few muffled sniffles.

Dina blinked.  
  
Then she blinked again.  
  
"I've no idea what just happened right now." It was blunt, and honest, but also true in the moment. Dina wasn't sure if she should feel insulted, strange, or merely have a sense of pity for the child. She decided to choose the latter, as her actions were those of a youngling no matter what she said about 'not being a kid'.  
  
Dina slowly stood up and walked to the wizard, but stayed far enough away that Grymm wouldn't feel rushed. She carefully lifted up her hands in a complacent gesture.  
  
"Listen, I didn't know that word bothered you. I won't use it. I was concerned about how you were feeling. That's it. You have to understand that I'm fifty years old. I could probably be the mother or grandmother to many people here, at least in human lifespans. My people don't even consider someone an adult until their fifth decade. It takes me a bit of time to adjust to all of this."  
  
Dina paused. "There's nothing to be scared of. I'm only frightening to my enemies. I'll give you some space now, but I would be happy to talk with you later."  
  
She looked back to the wizard and El Duderino. "All of that said, I'd be happy to camp somewhere. I think Barry needs the healing more than I do. Hells, I would be happy to chat with you around the fire and see what you're up to. I was sent here by my superior in the Iron Brigade and it sounds like we're looking for the same person."

Sam was taken by surprise. He had expected the outburst, but he hadn't expected Grymm to suddenly freak out afterward. He himself was grumpy, all this excitement was much more than he was used to. He realized that he had been having his own emotional outburst for the last little while. It made sense, after all he had almost watched this kid die before his very eyes. He felt bad for her, she must have been having a very stressful day. Sam crouched down so that his eyes were almost even with hers. He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair a bit "Hey." He said in the most soothing voice he could muster. Which, compared the dude, wasn't particularly soothing. "Everything's gonna be okay. I think we just all need rest a little and calm our nerves right? It's been a long day for us both." He cracked a little smile as he said that.

**When you all return to the wagons, there's no sign of Airen. A further search while uncovering the two reveals a note, just saying:** ** _"I had something to take care of, apologies and farewell on the job! - Airen"_ ** **. Barry shrugs, simply taking the reigns of the wagon Gundren originally hired you for, and preparing to head off to Phandalin.**

The dude was a bit worried about Airen going off on his own, 'hope he's ok out there' he thought  
  
He walked over as Barry as got into the driver's seat of the supply wagon, "You sure you in good enough condition to drive there Barry?" he asked "Sammy's a crack driver if you wanna rest in the back"  
  


**"It's alright I'll live I just really really need to rest, for like... 2 months,** **" he replied** **  
**

"Alright then, hey Dina, best you go with Barry, Grymm still hasn't quite calmed down from the K-word" he whispered "and don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault." he offered with a wink as he walked back to his wagon.  
  
"Ok, guys lets get moving," he said to Sammy and the cowering Grymm "you guys can rest in the back, I'll drive."

Grymm pulled back and gave Sam a teary-eyed nod but she would not let go of his robe and stayed close to him for the rest of the ride towards Phandelin. When they hopped up on the wagon, she sat next to him, that bright blue, sparkling glean still covering her eyes.  
Looking a bit closer at Grymm on the way back, Sammy sees that odd glowing blue shine covering Grymm's normally violet eyes. He recalls that Grymm was a sorcerer of some kind and that occasionally her spells have backfired in the past. This appears to be a backfire of some sort from her mini tantrum in the forest.

During the long trip back, she didn't talk much. In fact, she found a spot next to Sam that kept her warm and raised a hand to tug on her horn absently as she began to fall asleep. Resting away the adventure of the day to awaken as her usual peppy self.


	2. Phandalin and Wave Echo Cave

**The rutted track emerges from a wooded hillside, and you catch your first glimpse of Phandalin. The town consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings; some built on old fieldstone foundations. More old ruins-crumbling stone walls covered in ivy and briars-surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past. Most of the newer buildings are set on the sides of the cart track, which widens into a muddy main street of sorts as it climbs toward a ruined manor house on a hillside on the east side of town. As you approach, you see children playing on the town green and townsfolk tending to chores or running errands at shops. Many people look up as you approach, but all return to their business as you go by.** **  
  
Barry seems much more at ease, suggesting a local inn they could get discounted prices at, and leading you all there. Here, after you all have settled, you gather in Barry's room as he sorts through one of the chests from the supply wagon Gundren hired you to bring.  
** **"So, a lot of crap just happened. And it was all really terrible, and if you gave me the option, I would not do it again. " ** **He sighs and pulls a stack of papers out and sorts through them.** **   
** **"Uh, okay. Let’s start from the beginning. Gundren and his two brothers, whose names are Tharden and Nundro. The three of them have a claim to the lost mine of Phandalin. They managed to find out where it is."** **  
And he eventually finds a blank piece of parchment and says,** ** "Oh thank Istus they didn't get this."** ** And he spreads it out on the table before going back into his chest.** **   
** **"Now, and get this, ya'll are gonna love this. That dwarf, Gundren, IS the map. Like, his blood IS the map. How cool is that."**

Grymm awakens leaning against Sam, one thumb in her mouth and another hand tugging on her horn. As she realizes she was sucking her thumb, she quickly pulls it out and her now violet eyes dart around to see if anyone had noticed. She looks to the new town as they entered, her expression brightening to one of surprise, "Wooooow... It's so tiny." She remarked, comparing it to her home in Neverwinter.  
  
Once they had arrived at the Inn, Grymm kept quiet as Barry handled renting the rooms. While he was distracted handling business, Grymm gave Dina an awkward smile. She looked to the side as she spoke, unable to meet her gaze, "Ummm sorry about before I ummm... I don't know what happened but I was yelling and then you turned into a Bullywug and um... Yeah it was weird." She clasped her hands together and swayed back and forth innocently, still unable to look her in the face. "We can be friends, though... Ummm, If you want. Oh, and if you don't change anymore because I don't like Bullywugs..."  
  
After Barry had secured their rooms, they all gathered around a table and Grymm tried her hardest to pay attention. However, she didn't quite understand what it meant that Gundren's 'blood was the map.' That was just silly because the map looked like parchment to her. Her brows furrowed in confusion, but she kept her mouth shut, pretending to understand and assuming the others already did. She would ask Bob later.

Dina had been rather quiet on the trip here, mostly taking the time to heal her wounds. She acted tough, but they really HURT. When she did speak, she tried to make conversation with El Duderino since he seemed to know a lot about nature, plants, and that sort of thing.  
  
She also graciously accepted Grymm's apology later. "That's all right. Whatever scary thing you saw isn't me. I won't use that word and maybe we can get along better in time.' She looked over to the grumpy wizard and added, "Though it's quite nice to see that someone else is looking out for you."  
  
Dina sat at the meeting, and her brow furrowed at the news. "Wait...his blood IS the map? Does he have to cut himself to know where to go? How exactly does one read a blood map?"

Sam was sitting in one of the chairs, leaning back a bit, listening to Barry speak. When he got to the part about the map, Sam chimed in. "You know I can't help but notice that this parchment is blank. Don't tell me he had to bleed on it."

The dude was reclined by the window, pipe in hand, and some strange mix of honey milk and liquor he had asked the inn-keep to prepare.  
The trip back from the goblins caves was thankfully uneventful. After settling into a room and having himself a rest, he felt much better, stronger even. He even got to know his new traveling companion Dina a bit better as the two shared a lovely chat about the wonders of the natural world. Asking her if she wanted to dedicate her service to the work of the Pan God of Nature.  
  
Puffing on his pipe, the dude looked up at the mention of a blood map.  
  
"I don't know man," He said taking a sip of his beverage "sounds like necromancy to me, bad biz that kind of magic"

**Barry scrunched up his face, ** **"It does get a bad rep sometimes, but it's actually quite an interesting field and-"** ** Seeing your faces he pauses and turns back to grab something. ** **"Anyway, so you're observation was spot on Sammy, in fact, he gave me a vile of his blood, if I could just find it. . . aHA!"** ** Barry pulls out a small glass vial of dark red liquid and sits back in front of the parchment.** ** "Oh man, this is gonna be great, just watch." ** **And he uncorks the vial to let blood begin dripping down onto the paper.** **  
  
As it falls, you notice the blood is molding itself to the paper, it's not like, blending in but more like it's hydrophobic, staying on top and forming these shapes and paths. And after a minute or two, the vial is empty, and Barry tosses it backward.  
  
A bit of comparison to other maps you have shows it's pointing towards the Sword Mountains, which is about a day's ride from Phandalin. The blood at this point has also shaped out, a little circle, in the middle of the mountains, which Barry notices and says, ** **"Oh snap, well I'll be."** **  
  
He grabs a pen and starts trying to mark the cave on the other, not blood map you have. ** **"If he was taken by The Black Spider, I’m assuming that they were gonna take him… this cave—you gotta understand. This is the Rockseekers’ birthright, this cave. This is an area of tremendous power and they see it as their birthright. It belongs to them. But they are probably not the only ones looking for it. So if The Black Spider took ’em, I guarantee you he takes ’em here." ** **He sits back proudly, looking at you all.**

Dina's eyes opened wide as saucers as she watched the entire display.  
  
"That's....got to be WRONG, somehow. Is it giving anyone else the willies or just me?"  
  
She shifted back in her seat and did her best not to squirm.  
  
"Yeah yeah...you can make every comment you want about dwarves not liking magic or not understanding it. I know...it's not our thing. We leave that stuff to the gnomes. But I've never seen our casters do this before."  
  
The dwarf then suddenly turned to the other party members. "It's true, right? You don't cut yourselves and bleed out magic?"  
  
That uncomfortable bit delivered, Dina moved on. "I don't know who the Black Spider is, but he sounds bad, and I'll go to that place and bust some heads if that's what we must do. May I ask how many other people would be 'looking for this'?"

**Barry shrugs. ** **"As far as I know, we only have the one map. So I don't think anyone else is onto it yet. So, probably not anyone else? I don't know for sure."**

"Right ... sounds important, so about our 10 gold?" Bob looked on from his place at the window, "will you be handling that? or..." he trailed off waiting for a response  
  
"Look if you want to hire us to go with you guys to help save Mr. Rockseeker I'm ok with that, he seemed like a nice guy and all but this is a bit more can carrying some supplies you know. And another thing, this black spider ... how big a spider we talking here I know a few spiders and they can get pretty mean, never met one big enough to kidnap a dwarf or have a cave of goblins working for it." He shot a worried look towards Grymm "you sure we are the people you need for this job?"

Grymm leaned against the table to get a closer look; just as Dina seemed to be worried about the blood magic, Grymm was excited. "Woooaaahhhh! Cool! Can I get one of those? I want one, Barry! I want one!" She chants, hopping up and down at the table as she looked excitedly at the map.  
  
As Bob mentioned their pay, Grymm shrugged and shook her head at him. "I'm pretty sure Gundren was our boss, not Mr. Bluejeans. We should go save him, if not for the gold, then for the chance to see a huge, dwarf-stealing creepy crawly! I bet it's super scary." She giggled with delight.

Bob looked helplessly at the young child's excitement, her brush with death seemed forgotten entirely. He looked over to Sammy. He surely would have some input on the super scary spider matter.

"Yeah, sounds fun right, Sam?" he cringed.

Sam watched as Barry poured the blood. When it started to form a map, he suddenly leaned in. It has his full attention. 

"Wow." he said in genuine awe "They mentioned things like this in school, but to actually see one..." He listed while the others spoke about the possibility of wandering off to a cave that might have a giant spider in it. He sighed.

"I don't know. I mean it _is_ 10 gold, but is it really worth it at this point?" He leaned back in his chair. "Tell you what, let’s put it to a vote, raise your hand if you wanna go charging into another death trap for 10 gold."

Grymm already had her hand up before Sam could even finish talking. She held it up directly in front of him. Then, when her arm got tired, she used her other hand to support the arm that was raised in the air as she looked around at the others to see if they were voting the same as her.  
  
"Come ooooon, who cares about money it's about the adventure!" She begged, "Besides, Mr. bluejeans seems like a um.. really cool guy I mean just look at him."

Dina’s brow furrowed as she heard all the conversations about money. Ten gold wasn’t enough to die for. Ten gold wasn’t even enough to buy shiny new weapon. Ten gold was...  
  
Wait a minute.  
  
”I was never paid ten gold to begin with, come to think of it. And I wanted to save up for a new suit of armor. I still want to save that dwarfs cheap arse but he better have mountains of gold nearby when we actually do for all the trouble it was worth.”

**Barry chuckled.** ** "If you can find this cave, you are not going to have to worry about money ever, ever again."** ** Then he paused. ** **"Not because you'lll die, though, well, maybe? I mean, I'm not a psychic. You can take the map though."** ** Barry gives it a little shake, mumblings something under his breath as the map solidifies before your eyes.**

  
"You not coming with us Barry?" The Dude asked suspiciously.

**He smiled sheepishly. ** **"I…*really* need to rest. For like, maybe two weeks? But Gundren really needs to be saved"** **  
Looking at him, the four of you can tell that Barry is dead set on rescuing Gundren Rockseeker from the Black Spider and finding the cave. Even if he's not there himself.**

"It's settled then!" She said, even though it had most certainly not been settled."Mr. Bluejeans will stay here and we will go into the dangerous, possibly deadly vault of treasure!" She beamed her sharp-toothed smile, her eyes closed as she did so. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Aye. What's the worst that could happen?" Dina said, her brow furrowed.  
  
Other than, you know...dying. Or getting him killed. Or getting someone else killed. Or finding out that there's no real treasure. Or...  
  
Ugh. She could whine all day about this, but frankly they didn't know and wouldn't know until they got there and tried.  
  
"You know what, Grymm? I actually like that attitude. Maybe we tone it down a bit so we don't rush in like madmen. Buuuuuut....it's easy for grown ups to dither about what may or may not happen. But we won't know what's going to happen until we go. So that's what we need to do. I'll save the plotting for another. I really just need to hit something."  
  
Dina paused for a moment at the blank stares. "Something bad, I mean. Not you. It's good for what ails you. Stress relief and all. When I'm done screaming and I've just crushed a few bones, I feel more chill than El Duderino after he's smoked for a while and eats all the candy."

Sam could see he was out-voted. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Sure. Why not. Let's go running into _even more_ danger!" He said that, but deep down, in a part of his heart he was trying very hard to ignore, he didn't want to let Grymm run off and nearly die again.

"Well, I guess if Sammy is down for this too..." mistaking Sam's sarcasm for enthusiasm, "let's get going as soon as possible, a man's life is at stake after all." the dude finished his beverage and got to his feet. "I assume, the rooms are on you Barry and we will sort out our fees after we have returned Mr Rockseeker safe and sound"  
  
"Yeah, let's go! Onward to adventure!!" Grymm leap toward the door caught mid-air by the dude her tiny legs still running  
  
"One-second young lady, you and I are going to have a little chat while you help me pack the wagon."  
  
They made their way downstairs and Bob put Grymm to sit on the wagon while he packed his various religious items and supplies around her, in an almost ritualistic manner, silent at first it took a great deal of her will to sit uncommonly still and listen to the dude.  
  
"Grymm, your eleven now right? That's a magic age, especially for girls" he began  
  
"Is this going to be about boys? cuz I got a tonne of questions" she beamed a toothy grin  
  
"Oh NO, no no no, oh .. oh Gods No! let Dina talk to you about that." he stuttered " this is about what happened in the Goblin cave."  
  
"Grymm, I don't know if you have noticed but the rest of us while we are glad to have you and love your ideas and enthusiasm, we are all worried about you kiddo"  
  
At the mention of the K-word Grymm brows furrow  
  
"Now now, none of that" he quickly interrupted "It's just a fact, not an insult, you're younger than the rest of us, heck Sammy is a kid compared to Dina"  
  
Realizing that it was coming from a place of love and concern Gyrmm calmed ... a bit  
  
"My point is Grymm, I'm not your dad but while you're with us I do see myself as one of your guardians and I'm worried about you," he said as heartfelt as he could manage "For Pan's sake girl you nearly died on us and we going to facing much more dangerous things than boogermen"  
  
"I won't always be there to help and sometimes the rest of us will need your help too, I will need your help," He rested his hand on her shoulder and Grymm felt a surge of magic rush though her as Bob completed the ritual. "Can I count on you... dudette?" he said with a warm smile

**Grymm nods enthusiastically as the rest of the party comes downstairs.** **  
As you all are preparing to head out, you are stopped by a group of four thugs, all wearing grimy red cloaks. They keep their hands on their weapons as they watch you. One of the thugs spit on the ground. "Time for you to move on, strangers. Give us your stuff, and be on your way."**

Dina's brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed to slits as she eyed up the ruffians in their filthy clothes. No. This wasn't going to happen and she wasn't about to allow it.  
  
"It's time for you to move on, you two bit punks. We have business to attend to and you are in our way. I'm going to pretend that you didn't say anything to me and that you're instead on your way to a launderer to wash those filthy red cloaks that smell like a goblin's undergarments."  
  
The dwarf cracked her fingers and reached back for the maul on her back. "Or, I could see what the insides of your skulls look like. My guess is that they're shapeless voids, filled with nothing but hot air. But I won't know until I crack the egg and check. Care to indulge me?"

**The Ruffians take a second, glancing at each other, then back off. "I wouldn't come back if I were you, you'd best be gettin' on your way before Charlie comes 'round." They head around you all, making their way down the street to where a few more were watching from the porch of a large building. They are talking to one another, gesturing back.**

Sam finished his morning preparations and headed downstairs, just after Dina it seemed. He still wondered about that one, they had only just met her. He'd spent enough time with The kid and the old man to know them well enough. His thoughts were interrupted by four strange men in red robes trying to rob them. He had been preparing to cast a spell to sort the situation out but Dina stepped up and handled it in mere moments. Sam was genuinely impressed. "Wow, remind me not to get on your bad side! That was stone cold."

  
Dina looked back over to Sam. "I've seen the way you act around Grymm. You treat her like your little sister and it's adorable. I don't think you have to worry about getting on my bad side." The dwarf broke her serious expression to smile.  
  
"My family trained for millennia to serve in the Iron Brigade. Basically an elite strike force that protects the mountain clans from Orcs. Yeah, we learned how to bash their ugly faces, but we also learned how to scare them with words. Sometimes that's better."  
  
Dina motioned outside. "And let's be honest...those nasty words are the exact reason WHY those thugs' brains AREN'T splattered on the wall right now. If I was more polite, there would have been bloodshed. Sometimes you prove you care about life by being as nasty as possible. Sometimes bein' nice just gets people killed."  
  
She drew her maul and look outside. "However, it seems like there's more of 'em and they might come back for more. Let's go out there ready to rumble. Unless someone has another idea."

As the men approached, Grymm stood behind Dina with a powerful glare in her eyes. She knew thugs and she knew them well. Back home, most had at least a bit of compassion and would refrain from stealing or threatening other less fortunate folk like herself but there were a few who had no class or dignity. It usually ended with Grymm losing everything she had worked for and having to start over. 

"And and...don't come back, either! Because she would crack your head's open and and... And I would do... worst!" She threatened. She had a much better threat in mind but Dina's has been so good that it sorta threw her off just a bit.

She looked back to the strong Dwarf woman, "You're really good at being scary!" Grymm said with a smile, obviously meaning it as a compliment.

"I don't see how you could even think of putting me and adorable in the same sentence."He said, somewhat taken aback. "But you're right about one thing, if these bastards wanna play rough, I've got nice shiny wand that might teach them some manners." Sam started moving towards the carts, intending to take his place in the driver's seat on the second cart.

Grymm grabbed the dagger from her side and glared down the road they needed to cross. "Well, let's do it then! I'm ready to see this epic mine of treasure or whatever." She spoke openly without a thought for keeping things quiet. She was clearly antsy, as she seemed to bounce in place with anticipation. She would follow the group as they move to the cart, staying towards the middle of everyone.

Bob turned the wagon and pulled up right into front of the group  
  
With a whistle, he called out to Sammy who was headed to the other wagon, "I got room enough for everyone in here Sam, shouldn't be too much of a squeeze I left a bunch of books and stuff with Barry for when we get back. Let's stick together if possible" he suggested.  
  
"Let's get rolling before the heads do, shall we?" he said to Dina "Greatest battle being the one not fought and all, besides I'm sure there will be plenty of butt-kicking to do when we get where we are going." he winked at Grymm  
  
The dude lit his pipe and waited for the other to get into his portable home/school/wagon.

"Right..." Sammy mumbled under his breath. Without another word, he headed for Bob's wagon.

**Quickly heading out before the Ruffians can strike again, the four of you on Bob's wagon head out for Wave Echo Cave. It takes about half a day to arrive, with the sun high in the sky as Bob pulls over the wagon and your group steps out to survey the scene.** **  
  
The entrance tunnel leads into a large-cavern supported by a natural pillar of rock and containing three stalagmites. In the western part of the cave, behind the column of rock, are three bedrolls and a heap of ordinary supplies-sacks of flour, bags of salt, casks of salted meat, lanterns, flasks of lamp oil, pickaxes, shovels, and other gear. Amid the supplies, you see the body of a dwarf miner, dead for at least a week. The northeastern section of the cavern has collapsed, forming a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot-deep pit. A sturdy hemp rope is tied off around a nearby stalagmite and dangles down the side of the pit, at the bottom of which is a rough-hewn tunnel heading northwest and east.**

Upon their arrival at the cave, Grymm hopped from the wagon and began darting towards the entrance. However, mid-way through her run the memory of Bob's words rung through her mind, along with the flash of an image of a goblin slicing through her like a thin blanket. She came to an almost immediate stop, skidding to a halt before she could even make it inside. She looked back sheepishly at the rest of the party, "I should probably wait for you all to go in first... Besides, it kinda looks like someone is dead over there."  
  
Grymm grimaced and stared at the dead Dwarf. "I hope that's no one that we know." Her voice belayed a latent sorrow; apparently, the adventuring life meant that one would have to witness a lot of death and be okay with that.

  
"Damn it!"  
  
Dina's heart sank when she saw a fallen member of her race. She tried to tell herself that this was different...that it wasn't like when the Brigade fought Orcs...but all the same, it brought back memories.  
  
Despite the stench, Dina knelt down by the body and produced a bent and tattered symbol of an anvil. She held it over the corpse and quietly recited an orison in her native tongue. She then moved the body upright, folded the arms across the chest, and placed a nearby pick as a 'weapon' suitable for a proud dwarf to carry with him into the afterlife.  
  
She walked back to the group. "I know that we don't have time now...but that body should be burned in a fire when we leave. Ashes tossed back to the Stone."

**There is no clear sign of death, only lack of a pulse to him, and the faint smell of a body beginning to decompose. On his feet, are a pair of boots that shimmer just slightly in the light.**

Sam sighed. "A corpse already? Well we're just getting off to a great start aren't we?" He goes over to the pit and tugs on the rope a few times to make sure it's nice and secure.

Grymm looked at the dead Dwarf's shiny shoes, then her own bare feet, then the shoes again. It was highly unlikely they would fit her and she didn't care much for shoes anyways; however, they did look valuable and it would be a shame to burn them with the corpse. "So um, if they aren't going to use it... Those shoes look pretty. Someone should use them and then ummm...we can give them back whenever we are done here." she mentioned offhandedly.  
  
After her suggestion, Grymm headed towards Sam's side and peeked down into the pit while kneeling, tucking her dress beneath her knees as she sat. She looked to him, "Think it'll hold that big head of yours?" she teased.

"You know they say the bigger your head is, the bigger your brain is. But I guess anything would seem big from your perspective."

The dude placed a hand on Dina's shoulder, she turned to see a small sad smile on his face.  
  
"I will help you do a full and proper funeral service, in keeping with your customs when we return, but we have another Dwarf who may still be alive that needs out help," he offered  
  
Bob looked closely at the body, curiously there were no signs of death. The dwarf was not Gungren but did look quite a bit like him, perhaps one of the brothers Barry spoke of.  
  
"Let's get him out of the sun at least, I'll get a or cloth or tarp to wrap him from the wagon" he suggested "While I look for it Dina, I know it may not sit well with you but Grymm is right, he can't use those shoes anymore, see if they fit you. Reduce Reuse Recycle, after all, its the way of nature. If they can help you save Gungren, I'm sure he would be happy."  
  
After Dina and the Dude cover the dwarf's body he joins Sam and Grymm at the pit.

**The Dude, as the resident cleric takes a crack at determining the dwarf's cause of death, and finds the same thing that Dina did. No apparent cause, but he's been dead for at least a week.**

Dina looked back and nodded.  
  
”Of course, you’re right. The shoes are fine. Take em and use em. We always leave personal tokens, religious stuff and family identification. But it is a waste to leave them there.”  
  
Dina stood up and looked back at the body before turning to the others. “I promise I won’t cry over every corpse we find. I don’t even know this bloke and I’m getting the vapors. It reminds me of the services we had for fallen warriors more than I care to admit.” She paused for a moment. “I don’t know how it’s translated in common but I’ll try.”  
  
  
“But since it fell into my lot, that I should rise and you should not, I’ll gently rise and softly call, good night and joy be to you all.”  
  
That delivered, Dina readied herself. She could move on now. Whatever killed that man was still out there and the group needed to find it.

Grymm frowned angrily at Sam's retort - that was a good one and she hated it. "Nu-uh!! Bigger the head bigger the.....STUPID!" She yelled. Not her best come-back and she hated that too. She grumpily began muttering under her breath - something about 'pointy-hatted doofuses'.  
  
"So, Mr. big-brain, if you're so smart why don't you go first!" She pointed at the rope and stared at Sammy.

Dina smiled at the playful banter between the two magic folks. This sort of interaction differed from the gnomish wizards she dealt with on strike teams. Those people played vicious pranks on each other. Some were pretty funny but still...she would create a monster if she taught the kid.  
  
Then again....  
  
”It’s egg head, Grymm. You call smart people egg heads. Very intelligent but also quite easy to crack. Back in the brigade we had this gnome Abjurer whose head actually DID look like an egg and we often reminded him of it. He was kind of a jerk anyway. Although he did know how to shield the unit from attacks.”  
  
Dina removes the dwarf‘s boots. She gave a careful nod to the fallen brother and tried them on for size. “I suppose I’m the most likely person to fit in these. But hells, I don’t know what they are. Shiny is so...elven.”  
  
She said ‘elven’ in a way that implied decades of annoyance. Maybe there was a reason that her army recruited gnomes to fill wizard roles.

The Dude walked between the beaming Sammy (well mildly grinning but it's as beaming as he got) and the sullen Grymm haven gotten the worse of the exchange in their battle of ... wits (he guessed) and grabbed hold of the rope giving a quick tug to check if it was secure.  
  
**"Probably best if I go first, Gyrmm you and Sam come in after me, Dina can bring up the rare, she can most likely get down there the fastest of us anyway if it's urgent,"** Bob suggested  
  
The dude took a moment to calm himself 'hand over hand, take your take, don't want to look like a fool after giving marching orders' he thought, letting a bit of magic flow into himself.

**Bob makes it about halfway down before losing his grip and falling the rest of the way, hitting the ground and knocking the air out of him. Not seriously hurt, but a bit sore now.**

**"Eggheads are alchemists and enchanters."** Sam muttered as he grabbed the rope and tried to climb down without incident.  
  


**Sammy grabs the rope to climb and trips immediately, falling to the ground on/next to Bobert and landing on his arm.**

  
Bob opened his eyes and slowly sat up from where he had fallen, 'I'm getting too old for this shit' he thought he decided he best move before an overly enthusiastic thiefling came crashing down on top of him ... he had seen it happen before.  
  
Just then a shadow loomed above him, **"Oh shit"** he began to roll

**Bobert rolls outta the way just in time to avoid Sammy.**

Grymm gasped as she watched Sam fall, almost on Robert. Upon seeing him move (and that he wasn't dead) she began cracking up laughing. "Dina, I think the egghead just cracked! Teeheeheeeheee! Look out below, My turn!" Grymm grabbed the rope and began sliding down with no thought for safety.

Grymm lands with a flourish right next to Sam. She puts her hands up as she sticks the landing. "Grymm gets the gooooooldd!" Her voice echoes down the path, backed by a chorus of her laughter.

Sam sits up, grumbling at Grymm's gloating. He casts Mage hand and is going to try to grab her ankle and trip her up.

**Sam swipes the mage hand underneath Grymm's feet, tripping her up and making her fall and roll backward down the slight slope into the tunnel.** **  
  
Dina sighs and climbs down just as easily as Grymm, watching the two kids and their bickering.**

After his narrow miss the dude gets to his feet, taps his staff twice on the ground channelling the power of nature to into its end as it begins to glow.  
  
"let me take a look ... ouch, Med kit's back up in the wagon Sam, you ok to go on? hey at least nothing landed on your head this time" he chuckled  
  
he looks over to Grymm with a wink and thumbs up "Nice landing!"  
  
Just as he says this Dina suddenly appears sliding down the rope with a single hand to a perfect landing, how he didn't even know.

The mage hand was successful. It grabbed her by the ankle just as she began to jump for joy, rubbing in her victory. She stumbled, tried to catch herself, and fell face first into a puddle of mud and who-knows-what-else. "Pbt, Pbt! Sammy, WHAT THE FLUFF!? Boooooob, Sammy tripped meeee!" She whined as she spat out dirt and began wiping her face on the end of her dress. She then clapped her hand and touched her dress and cast Prestidigitation. Her dress became an almost glowing bright white in the dank darkness of the cave.  
  
Grymm stared at Sam and began cracking her knuckles. "I'm gonna turn you into a feeding trough for the horsies..." she threatened as she moved towards him slowly.

  
Seeing Grymm trip and fall, Sam starts laughing. "Yeah bob, I think I'm good."

Dina shook her head at the bickering. ”Listen to you guys! Ugh we get it, he hit me or she touched me. If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all!”  
  
Dina froze for a moment as she opened her mouth and her mother came out of it. “Love you guys, really do. But right now you sound like two kittens fighting for dominance. Gosh, who cares? Even if you win you’re still a baby.”  
  
She sighed and gave them the eye. “Now behave. Don’t make me come back there.”

Grymm lowered her head as Dina reprimanded them and when she was finished, Grymm nodded slowly indicating that she understood. However, when Dina turned her back to them, Grymm shot Sam a rude gesture she had learned from her old friend Skimp.  
  
She began following the others as they moved further into the tunnel system. "So, what kinda' monsters you guys think we'll see down here? More boogermen? Or maybe a giant ogre? Oooh ooh, What if the cave is full of werewolves?!" She wondered, seeming unafraid. As they walked, she would periodically twirl in a circle, running her hands along the stone walls of the tunnel. "What did Barry call this place? Wave Echo Cave? Maybe there are fish monsters here!"

The dude composed himself from holding back his laughter after watching Dina part his companion's squabble, 'so refreshing to not have to do it for once' he was fully content to that being Dina additional duty in the party now' he thought with a relaxed smile. As he led the way further into the cave his staff lighting the way.  
  
"Well, I certainly hope there aren't werewolves, you ever fight one of those Grymm?" the girl's questions left him pondering though what kind of creatures would be in a cave like this... or what had killed that dwarf. Better keep his eyes peeled he thought.

"Now, now...I saw that, Grymm!" Dina muttered just before she turned aside and raised her fist to her mouth. Nope, she was not biting it to keep from laughing. And nope, the coughs that followed it were DEFINITELY not masking a laugh. Totally not at all.  
  
"I never fought any werewolves. We tended to get the traditional enemies you'd expect in the mountains and tunnels. Orcs. Goblins. Kobolds. But in the ancient days, our ancestors dug deep enough to find Mind Flayers! They're like a person with an evil Octopus head and they suck out your brains. Nasty creatures. And Ulfgar Varrow once encountered a Black Dragon. The whole clan had to come together and battle it, and many brave souls perished, but they slew the beast and used its bones to make new hammers."

  
Grymm decided to pretend she didn't hear that Dina had seen her rude gesture and instead continued on with the conversation. "No, I've never fought a werewolf before. One time, I did think that one was coming to eat my bones while I was sleepin' in the alley, but it turns out it was just a reeeeeeally big rat that was standin' in front of a torch. I let him off with a warning." She did another little twirl as Dina spoke, listening to what she was saying while remaining easily distracted.  
  
"Woooooow, Evil octopus? What's an Octopus? That is pretty amazing that your family fought a dragon, though! If I ever saw a dragon, I would just be friends with it. That way, whenever someone told me to go away because of my horns, I would just tell my dragon friend to eat 'em up!" She said, thrusting her fists forward as if she was in a fight with some imaginary being.

"It's a strange, blobby creature that lives in the ocean. It has eight arms with sticky things on them that it uses to catch fish and shellfish, and then it pulls them into its big strong beak to crush and eat them. Oh, and get this? It has INK! It can shoot ink in the water as it swims off and hides. I'd never seen one of those myself but one of my gnome friends showed me how the animal worked. He called it his...acquaintance? Friend? Family? Familia? Something like that. But it was a really cool creature. And he said people on the beach eat it. It's kind of rubbery but apparently really tasty."  
  
Dina smiled at the kid's telling of her dragon story, though she felt a bit sad towards the end of it. There really were people in this world who would say things like that to a child. It was hard enough being alone, but the rest of it?  
  
"You're a pretty girl, Grymm. And I"m sure you'll only get better as you age. Your horns are cute and anyone who says otherwise is just being ignorant." She paused. "And if I see someone doing it, I'll threaten to shove my first up their arse."

Sam lowered his head at Dina's reprimanding. He knew she was right. It was very childish to pick on a kid like that. Maybe that just meant he hadn't grown up yet. He knew Luna always thought of as childish, especially when Rami had convinced him to do something stupid. He missed those two. He shook his head, now was not the time. He regained his focus just in time to see Grymms friendly little gesture. It brought a smile to his face. As they moved through the cavern, they started talking about monsters. "I doubt we'll see werewolves in a place like this. It'll probably be full of** spiders. Really big, gross spiders. With big fangs and deadly venom."**

Throughout Dina's explanation of what an octopus was, Grymm's eyes seemed to go distant as she tried to picture what such a creature could look like. "Ink? Are they some sort of scribes? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard." She chuckled, shaking her head. Clearly, Dina must have been making it all up just to entertain her. She started to like her; and now that she told her she was pretty, Grymm was grinning from ear-to-ear as she batted her eyelashes. "Awwwuh, thank you. I think you're pretty too, Di-di. I don't really wanna touch anyone's erm...'arse' but I sure as heck will beat them into juice if they talk bad about you either!" She raised another fist in front of her face as her violet eyes gleamed with determination.  
  
Grymm lost a bit of that determination as Sam mentioned something about large spiders. "Wait, huh? Spiders? L-liiike..How big? I don't like spiders, and this one time- um um....this one time I saw one that was like as big as my hand! It was so gross, I ran away really, really fast." She shuddered at the memory.

A smirk made its way onto Sam’s face, and it soon turned into a devilish grin. "The size of your hand? Oh no, that's just the small ones. I'm talking big spiders! Like bigger than Robert’s horses!" He spread his arms wide to exaggerate his point. "The kind that could snatch someone up if they went running off by themselves, and eat them whole!"

Grymm shuddered again. Her imagination took over and she stopped in place, visualizing the idea of a mega spider. When she shook herself out of it she realized she was a few steps behind the rest of the party. "R-re-really?? Then don't walk so fast- wait for me!" She ran to catch up and grabbed the back of Sam's robe to stay next to the party. She warily looked around her at the natural formation of the cave walls, expecting mega-spiders to attack at any point.

**As the four of you make your way through the cave, doing some simple mapping to keep track of where you've been, you notice that as you get deeper in, the walls of the cave seem to have a natural shimmer and glow to them.** **  
  
You eventually enter into a large cavern with a massive pool of water that is undoubtedly more than 30 feet down. Above it is a huge stalagmite that, now and then, drops a glowing bit of water into the pool below. Around you, blanketing the cavern floor is a thick layer of glowing rainbow mushrooms.  
  
In front of you, on the far end of the shelf you stand on, is a gated elevator, kinda creaky and old looking, but still seems to be in use.**

Dina smiled and shook her head. She knew that Sam was scaring Grymm and having fun doing it, but he was also keeping her alert and close to the group. Oh well. She wasn't trying to be the 'fun police' and it served a purpose, so it went without comment.  
  
"Well...shiny mushrooms. Whatever you do, don't eat them. Many species are poisonous and if we can't identify them, they'll kill us. Unless El Duderino might know something about them that I don't?" she asked gently.  
  
Dina also did her best to check out the elevator to see if she thought it was safe for use.

**Dina, you don't quite recognize these mushrooms, but you do notice, that they seem to move in response to noise, so as you say that Dina, they squirm and shoot upwards a cloud of spores right at you.**

"Ugh, it's always these damned mushrooms!" Dina coughed and tried to wave them away, but her body steeled itself for the oncoming spores.

**Dina coughs and waves them away, managing to steel against them just before a second cloud poofs up around her as she speaks, this one a little bigger than the last.** **  
  
This one she gets the sniffles from, sneezing a couple of times but otherwise okay.**

The dude covered his mouth as Dina staggered back from the poison cloud and lowered his staff to the mushroom as he crouched down to get a better look. _'What in the nine hells were these'_ he thought all hope of finding a cache of edible fun for the road ahead were dashed by Dina's response. But he did know a thing or two about mushrooms from his ... ummm... medical uses.  
  
He assessed them carefully, if they were strong enough to elicit that kind of response from a dwarf a whiff of that cloud might very well kill him.

**Robert, you also don't recognize these mushrooms. They are large, glowing, and bulbous, and when you get closer they puff up as if defensive, though they don't explode like they did for Dina. You don't know what they are, but they do seem to have some sort of natural biological response to your presence.**

The dude had never seen these shrooms before but he guessed that their natural defense mechanism was being triggered by the sound they were making.  
  
He turned to the group, thinking he could silently warn them of the danger, that they would need to pass this section of cave quietly when he saw the eager Gyrmm twirling and wounded and extra grumpy Sam and quickly realized the plan was doomed. Flashing back to his nearly catastrophic rope cutting incident earlier he decided to try a different route. A vision of one of them laughing and quibbling triggering a chain reaction of poisonous death clouds.  
  
'Nope' he thought  
  
He motioned with his hand for the group to hang on a sec and slowly walked up the edge of the carpet of mushrooms, trying to get as close as possible that the light of his symbol would reach the entire cavern.  
  
Bob produced his holy symbol and raised it in the air, it shone with the power of Pan's light as he channeled his divinity thought it.  
  
"So .. umm ... like we are just passing through.. ok dudes... like no reason to spray on me or the rest of these guys... we cool?"

**The mushrooms jiggle one last time, letting out a very tiny poof that barely reaches your ankles, before settling down as their glow dims slightly. It's quiet.**

Robert breathed a sigh of relief and kissed his holy symbol, "thank you Pan" he said quietly  
  
"Ok guys, it should be safe now, let's move," he said to the group "we got 1 minute to get out of this cave and hope we don't run into more because I can only do that once." as he briskly walked to the other side of the cavern

Grymm walks right up next to The Dude, looks at him, looks at his holy symbol, then looks at the mushrooms and after a long pause says "Why are you being so weird? Did you eat one of those? Sometimes you eat weird plants and it makes YOU weird. Is that what's happening here? Or are you talking to them? What are they saying? Do they like my dress?" She interrogates him as she looks curiously over the bed of mushrooms.

"Walk and talk please." Sam emphasized "I don't know what he did but we can ask him later when we're not in danger of getting sprayed by funny mushroom gas."

"Yup, I'd listen to Sam on this one. Let's get out of here. Fast. Gosh I hate mushrooms. Although if El Duderino's eating habits helped us get out of this alive, I'm not judging."  
  
That said, Dina quickly exited stage left, noticing that her boots made her a bit faster than normal.

**Dina hurried with the rest of the group behind her to the elevator, pulling it open with both hands and gesturing everyone in. Once in, Grymm immediately pressed the only button in there, causing the elevator to begin a squeaky, shaky descent downwards.** **  
  
After about a minute of squeaks, it stops to rest at level with the spring, a path leading around it to a second tunnel. The water here laps at the edges, and seems to be glowing brighter.**

Grymm jumps up and down excitedly as the elevator reaches its destination. "That was so much fun! Let's do it again." She went to press the button again but saw the rest of the party's dull stares. "Alright alright, fine. But when we go back, I wanna press it!" She hopped out of the elevator and moved towards the glowing pool of water. She leaned over it, staring at her own reflection. She stuck her tongue out at herself and put up a "peace" sign. "What's with the water? It's all glowy! Hi, me!"

"I wonder if the water here is what made those strange mushroom..."" he wondered out loud "let me take a look-see at it."  
  
"Think it's magic Sammy?" he asked

  
"I don't know." He replies. "But let's not go messing around with mysterious liquids we found in a cave."

**Sammy, looking closer at the water and trying to resonate with the magic he feels in it. A close magical examination reveals a healing aura coming off it, and more than that from the rocks. As if the magic itself is in the cave and not just the water**

Dina again stared at the weird magic water and didn’t to or what to think. Varrow tradition always said leave magic alone and get yourself a gnome. They could always fix it. And they’d even have fun doing it. Damn but it was nice to have them backing you up. Might be silly but they knew their spells and with dwarves up front, nothing touched em.  
  
Did humans feel the same way? They were so...young. Like teenagers. Gnomes could see the world in their centuries but a human keels over just about the time you learned their name. Oh well. At least they weren’t those prissy High elves. Permanent stick up their arse. Not like those good Wood elves. Lest those people could handle a bow.  
  
”So this water...isn’t gonna kill us? I always thought everything wanted to kill us. Even the damned shrooms have it out for us.”

The normal grumpy tiredness on Sam's face changes for moment, to more of a curious look."Does anyone have a vial?"

"Not a vial but I got a waterskin if you wanna collect some?" the dude replied, "So is it magical?"  
  
Digging through his pack the dude pulls out a half-full water skin and tosses it to Sammy.

"You're all wimps! It looks very pretty so how bad could it be!" Grymm says haughtily then sighs and leans closer to the water. She sniffs it, dips a finger inside, then sticks out her forked tongue and dips it in the water. She smacks her lips a few times, tasting the water. "Tastes like....water!"

Sam dips the waterskin into the pool as he explains. "It's not just the water, but the whole cave. Something about that place has healing properties. Could be a good note for later, if we need to come back here." He pulls the waterskin out and takes a swig.

**Grymm, you feel energized a few seconds after you drink it, as though you've just woken up from a fulfilling nap and are ready to seize the day. Sammy, you take a swig, and feel the same.**

”Oh hells yeah!! Boy sometimes I love you spontaneous types!! We can bottle what we can of this. Never know when we might need it.”  
  
She paused for a moment .”It’s good to have a mix of things in life. Although they always told is in the army, don’t lit your hands anywhere you wouldn’t put your family jewels. You never know what bites.”  
  
Dina stopped and laughed. “There was the one silly human, went by Jenkins. He loved screaming his name and running into things. He’s have drunk the water. But he probably would have killed himself eating mushrooms before he made it down here.”

"Huh, well that's convenient" Bob takes a drink from the water skin and offered it back to Sammy to top up, "maybe we should all fill our water skins if we got"  
"That might not be a bad idea. Of course the magic is all over this cave, so the water might just be water if we take it out of here. It's worth testing though."

"Wooowwww... This fills me with so much energy. I wonder why it's here. Maybe it's for the monsters? Like, some sort of Monster's energy drink? Weird." Grymm fills up her water skin and takes another swig of the shining liquid. Afterward, she ran over to Bob's side and grabbed onto his robe to stay close, ready to move forward.

**Everyone filled their skins with the glowing water, it dimming a bit but still alight with the magic of the cave. Further down the tunnel at the end of the path is a huge iron door. Going through that is another long tunnel. It's getting a bit repetitive and annoying at this point, there are so many tunnels. After about 5 minutes of walking through that one, you enter into a large room with a huge circular grate in the middle of it. Sitting on the grate is this large mechanical grinder, probably used to break up stone and such back when the mine was still active. Above this is a ledge with a wooden door opposite the side you just came from, it's the only exit in the room. A ladder leads up to it.** **  
  
As you walk into the room, the door is kicked open with a BANG by a young orc woman who is holding the biggest crossbow any of you have ever seen. She levels it at you, threatening but also looking quite confused, just staring at you puzzled.  
  
** **"Ah, crap."** ** You hear her say quietly. And a second voice, that to Sammy, sounds weirdly familiar, calls from the back ** **"What's wrong?"**

"Whoooaaa... whoa whoa whoa!... ok hang on there now," the dude says stepping in front of Grymm "We got a kid with us, calm down. If you were looking for the super water it was right back there like 10 minutes walk. There's plenty for both of us, no need for the weapons"

Grymm peeked around Bob at the orc woman, her eyes glistened with interest as she looked at the massive crossbow."Woooaaahhhh! That thing is huge! Who are you? We are friends! Well...maybe, that all depends on if you're a bad guy or not." She smiled brightly, eyes closed, as she stayed behind The Dude.

Sam froze. He wasn't exactly sure why yet, but something about that second voice caught him off-guard. All at once he was hit with feelings of happiness and dread and his brain didn't know how to process it. He started to panic internally and he instinctively took three steps back.

**The orcish woman lowers her crossbow completely, putting it on her back with a sigh and rubbing her forehead. ** **"Okay, alright. Just hush a sec. I'm just, confused. I'm trying to figure out HOW you got here, and WHY." ** **She sighs again and calls back: ** **"There are some people here, and, a kid?"** **  
You just hear a ** **"WHat?!?"** **  
And then, a buff human woman with curly reddish-brown hair enters and peers around her. ** **"Holy crap Kils you weren't kidding."** ** And she freezes, because, Sammy, you'd recognize your sister anywhere as she exclaims, ** **"Sammy?! What in Istus' name are you doing here? No, nevermind that, where the HELL have you been! You just up and disappear for over a year and I find you HERE of all places?!"** **  
  
And the orc woman, who the human had called Kils says: ** **"Wait, wait, THATS the brother. THAT, "** ** She gestures to Sammy. ** **"Is the missing kid?"**

  
Grymm's brow furrowed as she heard the k-word start being thrown around. Just as she went to say something, the two strangers referenced Sammy as being the kid. That was more like it."Wait...I'm confused. Sammy do you know these people? This is all so weird..."

Sam's panic was in full swing now, this was exactly the scenario he'd been trying to avoid for years. What was he supposed to do now!? If his father found out he was here...God's he didn't even want to imagine that! "I...I...I don't....I...no...I..." was all he managed to stutter out. He tried to take another step back but he tripped on himself and fell over. He laid there on the ground, eyes distant, breaths shallow and rapid and a single tear from each eye fell.

Grymm gasped as Sam tripped. She saw the fear in his eyes, the confusion that surpassed hers and finally, the tears as that ran down his cheeks. Her eyes went wide as she ran over from behind Bob and stood in front of Sammy, arms outstretched, blocking him from the view of this burly human woman. "I don't know who you are but you're freaking Sam out so just GO AWAY!" she shouted, glaring at her. Her hands sparkled with energy as she prepared herself for a fight.

Bob takes a step to Sammy and extends a hand to help him up. In an uncommonly serious voice he kneels and says, "I don't know what the story is, you can tell me later, but we got your back, Samuel, no matter what."  
  
As he does so his staff begins to glow in the familiar way the others had seen before, showing that Robert was ready for a fight.  
  


**The human woman took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. ** **"Right, right, there's no need to fight. I'm sorry Sammykins, I didn't mean to freak you out, and"** ** There was a shout from behind her. ** **"There are more important things at stake here. Hi, I'm Samuel's sister, nice to meet you, Sammy, We'll talk about this later, right now, I just need you to answer a couple of Killian's questions, and then Killian, either make them leave or bring em along to help. Preferably leave and stay in Phandalin. That'd be fine probably."** ** With that she pulled a hammer from her waistbelt, and ran back into the other room with urgency.**

**  
Killian groaned. ** **"I hate it when these missions get complicated. Right, so, I guess the determining factor here is, are you all" ** **She pauses, as if thinking over her words before carefully continuing, ** **"Here, for the o̷̶̵̢̢͓̯͓̠̭͓̩̼͉̲̭͉̫͋̅͘ǝ̵̶̶̨̢̡̛̥͓̮̙̗̣̯̝͐͑̽̑̐̀̐̐́̌̈̏̌̃̎͊͒͑̕͜ņ̸̶̶̛̲̥̱̤̖͙̺̲̭̭̮̙̮̱͐͌͛̈́̋̅̓̅ͅͅ ̧̠̰̯͎̞͎ı̴̶̵̡̛͙͙̖̳̥͎̖͕͙͍͈̳͂͂̾̒̃̂̃͂͒̏͗͌̿̏́̕x̸̶̴̧̡̛̛̜̜͇̖͕͕̭̥̪̜̒̄͒͆̅͐͒̓͂͋̏̉̍̓͘ͅd̷̶̶̛̗̤́̆̐̓͝ͅ ̨̛̬̙̙̖͖͇̓̾̀͐̄͌̊̀̌͌ͅͅɥ̵̶̴̨̝̪̲̟̪̺̜̲̩͇͙̙͉̘̻̹̤̍̏̋͛̿̒̈͌̌͌̈͐̄̽͘͘͝ͅɐ̴̶̵̜̫̱͍̖̣͎͖̉̃̌̄̓͌̊̋̽͌͒̉̅̒́͒ ̯͍̗͎̖͙ʎ̴̶̸̧̢̡̝̤̻̬̬̺͍̱̳̮͈͓͈͕̻̦͈͈̳̦̉͛̀͗̈̑̇̈́̌͆̽ͅ ̵̶̸̧̫̭̺͙͍̤̲̗̦̫̼̖̱̜͈̣̮̜̰̾͆̿̀͒͗̈́́͘̕̕͜ı̶̶̶̢̻̩̬̈̐̂̌͛̃͋̈́̇͌̄̓͊̕͝ɹ̷̶̵̮̠̮̫̠̙̈́̏̀̈̋̌̆͗̑̉̓̇͛̇̅̂̈́̇̚͝͝͝ ̖͈̠̪̬ǝ̴̶̶̨̺̼̝̪̺̜͙̠͒̆͐̾͂̊̆̆̕ɟ̴̶̶̧̖̙̼̤͉̥̼̯̙͚͉̱͍͚̗̎͛̍̍̇͐͛̎̉͛̈́͗̒̓̽͌̂̈̚͜͝͝͠ɐ̶̶̷͂̒̽̔̂̋̂͌̿̓͘̕̚̕͜ ̼̪͔̫̬̟͒͆͜ʎ̷̶̷̡̨͈͈̮̲̩͚̩͑̇̄̓̎̎̽̂̀͗̐̒̽̈́͠͠ ̷̶̵̨̧̡͓̜̻̳̠͎̘̲͕͇̜̼̪͍̜̤̼͔̫̀̊̌̾́̚͠ͅɐ̶̶̸̡̜̜̲͔̥̜̪̓̍́̅͒̑̕͜n̸̶̴̢͇͈͉͉̩̬̱̳̭̭̈͛͋͗̌̃̆̃̌͂̆̿̌̓̿͒̓͛̕͝ ͈̼̒̎̋n̶̶̵̨̧̧̳̮̪̯̥̟̟̻̗̞͕̑̿͒͗̓̉͗͑̇̂̄̚̚͝͝͝ͅʇ̴̶̴̫͈̪͂̃̏͑̆́͆̿͂̔͂͋͌͌͋̎̈́͂̌̐͋̔̚͝l̸̛͕̂͛͋̎͂̑̀̽͋͘͘̚ ̶̶̡̯͙͇̥͖̬̙̎̈́̽̂̋͝lǝ̸̶̵̡̨̛̘͍̲̎͒̋̃̆͐̀̅͐̒͆̈́́̚̕͠͝ͅͅʇ̵̶̸̨͇͓̘͎͎̞͚̲̳̞͉̩̌̀̂͆̄̐̽̈̈́̿͋̆̈͘͝ƃ̴̯͉̞̖̓̓̆̕ ̶̷̛̙̰̮̙͙̰̣̗͓̺͇̯̈́̑̽͒̍̏͗̂͘͘͝ɐ̶̶̷̢̛̲̣͙̤̞̹͉͕̼̹̳͕̝̤̰̣̖͈͕̟̝̰͖̦̼̘͐̉̍͛̃̐͑̑̓͋̈́̓̕ʎ̴̛̭̙͋͛̈͆̐͂̏͑̌͝ ̶̸̢̘̥̻̩̬̜͈̮̲̻̖̳͖̪̃̚ ?"  
  
**

"Bless you" the dude replied assuming the orc woman sneezed

**Killian blinked. ** **"Uh, right, that actually tells me everything I need to know, assuming here that Sammy there, isn't in the know either, though he seems a little, shaken up I guess, which, fair, considering."** ** She breathes a size of relief. ** **"So uh, scram? Can't like, kill you or anything. Not about to kill a kid, or Saph's brother. That'd be an awkward conversation. So, bye?"** ** She reaches downwards, taking the ladder in both hands and just, crushing it to pieces before closing the door behind her.**

Grymm shuddered with anger as the two strangers left. She glared after the orc woman and then turned to Bob. "Okay, they are clearly bad guys! Can we Puh-leez go beat them up? I mean, we definitely aren't leaving, are we?" she asked, pounding one of her fists into her open palm. She didn't know who these people were but one talked funny, with all sorts of fuzziness to their voice and the other just straight-up freaked Sammy out. She was ready to pound.

Dina was absolutely stunned by the various developments. What in the bloody Hells was going on? None of this made any sense at all!  
  
"Moradin's balls, you'd think that they'd all eaten those funky mushrooms the way this has been going on. What...happened??"  
  
Her eyes narrowed. That woman said that she was Sam's sister...and he obviously didn't like that very much.  
  
Dina shook her head. "This is why the bloody clan system makes sense. Everyone knows their place. None of this bloody drama." Granted, dwarven families usually got angry and didn't talk for decades, but that was...well, something that she was used to.  
  
She sighed in frustration, but she walked her way over to Sam and took a knee to look at him. "Hey, soldier. You're a bit shell shocked. Seen this before. Sit up. Look at me, directly in the eyes. Don't look at anything else. You're ok. We're all here. We don't know what the hells is going on, but you can tell us, and we can help you. But we can't to goblin shite until we know what's going one." Her brow furrowed as she thought. "Ok. You're not here. Picture yourself on a calm beach on a summer day at the ocean. Waves are crashing. Breeze is blowing. Some lovely female type you fancy walked by in skivvies. You've got your wizard book. You've got a drink. No problems. No stress. Just you and the beauty of nature. And the girl with the great arse. You're gonna stop, and you're gonna breathe. Slowly. Surely. Nothing matters now except you, your books, the crashing waves, and that trollop in the water. You're alone. You're empty. You're at peace. And none of that outside world shite can piss on the excellence that is you."

With some coaxing from the others, Sam eventually calmed down. He sat up at first and eventually stood. It occurred to him that he'd just had what equates to a tantrum, and everyone saw it, and he became a bit embarrassed. It also occurred to him that there were more important things. "Right. Sorry everyone, and thank you." He sighed. Storytime later, Right now I think I need to know what the hell exactly Fia is doing in this cave!

Seeing Sam get up from Dina's pep talk he smiles to himself,'groups getting stronger' he thought  
  
"Well... I'm not sure about them being bad guys," he replied to Grymm, "or us needing to beat them up, just yet anyway, The orc woman's seems to be thinking she could kill us at any time though and I have a feeling she may be underestimating us a bit," he rubbed at his chin, "though I do suppose we don't look the most professional bunch" he laughed  
  
"Regardless, we ain't gonna scram ... we still a job to do, a black spider to exterminate and a dwarf to save" he walked towards to the door staff in hand, "Oh mattermancer, take care of this door for me, will you?"

"Sure thing, Pops!" Grymm clenched her hands into fists as her eyes began to spark with energy. She focused her gaze on the door, hoping that it was unlocked as she thrust her hands forward to blow it open with Thaumaturgy.

"All right, kiddos...squeeze in tight. I've always been pretty good at athletics but this is a new thing for me. If the Dude could grab my back...and if I could carry our magic people one to a shoulder...we can manage this."  
  
Dina held her breath while everyone came together and squeezed in. "I promise not to smash your heads against a rock. Anyway...one...two..."  
  
Dina figured that she would go ON three instead of saying three and then jumping. Hopefully that would amount in fewer potential urine stains.  
  
Thankfully for her, she managed to make it up, safe and sound, with everyone else.

"Welp, I suppose going up is easier than climbing down ..." just then Dina picked up Sammy and Gyrmm in either massive arm and motioned for the Dude to hold on. Unsure of the plan he listened to the confident woman and after a sharp pull where he thought arms were being torn off he realized the group had landed in front the door, the dwarven warrior having lept the 20ft straight up, holding what he estimated was at least 350lbs  
  
"Well ... God damn...that was ... Impressive" the dude managed.

**The four of you, slightly winded from the jump head down this stone hallway. It's clearly been carefully carved out by actual stone workers and not mining equipment because, it's got quite the intricate pattern on it. But down the at the end of the hallway you hear clanging metal, the telltale sounds of combat, then:** **   
** **"Oh CRAP."** **   
** **"I got you!"** **  
Then a thud, and silence before you hear the orc woman from before yell:  
** **"Uh, help? Someone? Could use a hand down here!"** **   
** **"You did NOT just CALL out for the jello monsters to help us!"** **   
** **"You have a better idea?!"**

"Huh ... well Sammy sounds like your sister is in trouble," the dude lights his pipe "should we go assist them?" he says is a casual manner tapping his staff on the ground to activate its magic

Sam was legitimately impressed by Dina's display of sheer strength and willpower. At this point he was sure that if she was ever _Really_ upset with him, he'd be a dead man. That's when he heard the sounds from down the cavern. "If my sister is in trouble then I have to help her." he said, with a determination the party had yet to see.

Grymm giggled with excitement as the wind blew through her hair. She hadn't been carried like this in all of her years alive. It was more fun than that time that they rode on actual wagons! With each passing second she grew more and more confident that she had made the right choice to join this party on their quest  
Upon their landing, she hopped off of Dina and jumped up and down with excitement. "Again! Again! That was so fun! After some time, she realized they would need to complete their mission and would have to head towards the sound of fighting. That's when she heard the determination in Sam's voice. She rolled her eyes with obvious jealousy, "Ugh, alright alright... He sees his 'sister' one time and suddenly he's fantasy Superman...”

Dina nodded to Sam and then took off the maul from her back. It felt good to hold it again. It had been a while since she had smashed something with it.  
  
”Good. Let’s get in there and take care of her. And maybe crush a few things along the way, too.”

Sam hears Grymm's comment and sighs, reaching out to lift Grymm up to his shoulders.

Grymm felt herself being picked up from behind and immediately reacted with intense squirming. "Wait, Wh-What the heck are you doing!?" she asked as she made an almost sweet moment extremely awkward.  
In the end, Sam had only managed to lift her about a foot of the ground before she wiggled out of his grasp. "I take it back, you are absolutely NOT fantasy superman."

**You all enter a huge room with what looks to be the main quarry. Closest to you is a large iron-wrought door, it's absolutely massive, so much so that you kinda wonder how they even got it in here. On the far side though, is the orc woman you saw earlier, attached to the wall with a thick layer of webbing up to her neck. Standing near her is a drow dressed in dark-colored robes and a spider tabard. He has a fancy wizard staff pointed at her and seems quite happy with himself. In the corner though, near the edge of the quarry, is the whole reason you even came down here in the first place. Lying on the ground is Gundren Rockseeker, kneeling next to him, watching the drow warily is Sammy's sister.** **  
  
When you enter the drow jerks his head towards you, exclaiming: "Oh look at that! We have guests my dears how exciting!" He does a little bow with his staff still pointed towards the Orc Woman. "Hello Hello welcome to my cave! I'd assume no introductions are necessary? My reputation, of course, precedes me. However, I would like to know who you are."**

Sam hangs his head in shame as the group makes their way down the tunnel. Last time I try to do something cool. he thought to himself. Upon reaching the cavern and seeing the scene in front of him, he replies to the drow. "What's the matter spider? Not going to invite into your parlor?

Grymm raised an eyebrow at the Black Spider, trying to take in exactly what she had heard. "Why does your voice sound...like that? Doesn't matter. I'm Grymm of the Alley and YOU are about to be pulp." she says as she punches a fist into her open palm threateningly. "You get one chance, weirdo. Let them go and get outta' here before my friends and I kick your rear into next year."

Dina was shocked when she entered the room. There was the dwarf she was supposed to find...and Sam's sister that apparently had a history with him. The orc lady was definitely consumed in a web of sorts. And then there was...  
  
The Drow.  
  
Dina's eyes narrowed to slits.  
  
High elves were prissy little dandies that cast their spells and never seemed to pass gas, but even they would pull on their silken panties and cast spells against evil when push came to shove. They pissed her off, but she would still stand with them. Or in front of them, so they didn't get any blood on their pretty little expensive robes.  
  
But Drow...were slavers. They took pleasure in doing raids along the surface, pulling unsuspecting elves, halflings, dwarves, and humans to their doom. They sacrificed, they murdered, they stabbed in the back, and they had fun doing it. Dina had never, not once, seen any of them worth a lick. She knew that she would be happy to meet a good one, but she figured that she'd first meet a kind Devil or seven-foot tall gnome.  
  
And this one was already using nasty spider magic.  
  
"I'm Dina of Clan Varrow, and I would LOVE to mess up your prissy little robes. One swing at a time. It would be a lot easier if you let them all go. But gods, it would be fun if you didn't." She clenched her maul tightly and smashed the floor next to her in a quick display of strength. She didn't know if it would scare the Drow or not, but she didn't really seem to care.

  
Bob waves to the Drow and begins walking towards to downed dwarf.  
  
"I’m the Dude. So that’s what you can call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.” he introduces himself  
  
"Mr Rockseeker owes us some money for a job, you kidnapped him before he paid us so we're gonna be needing to take him back alright." bob explained "oh also you should probably listen to the ladies, they are the dangerous sort." he finishes with a grin.

**The Black Spider did a mock gasp, covering his mouth with his unoccupied hand very daintily. "Of course, of course! My apologies, how could I be so rude. Girls, we must make a place at the table for them all. Perhaps a juice for the little one? Of course, you can take Gundren, he's served his purpose, I will need just a wee bit more of his blood though. No need for such vulgar violence now is there? I have to, I’m curious to ask, if you don’t mind answering a few questions? No pressure if you don’t want to. I don’t— I want you three to feel very comfortable here. How in the hell… do you know about this magical cave mine?"** **  
  
The orc woman rolls her eyes from her spot on the wall, and Sammy's sister smacks her face with her hand. Making a face and trying to kinda shoo you all away from afar.**

Sam mocks the spider right back. "Oh you know how it goes, you meet a guy in a pub, you end up in a magic cave. Classic story."

**The Black Spider nods. "Oh for sure! Mine ended a wee bit differently of course, but there are little ears here so I shall not divulge the steamy details. Ugh, you simply MUST meet my fiance someday, he's SUCH a sweetheart."**

"well that is mighty proper of you," the dude smiles, "well, let see how Mr Rockseeker is doing first before you take any more blood or whatnot," he walks over to Gundren and examines his condition," you wouldn't happen to have the ingredients for a pale kobold would you? it's like a coffee and vodka, or of you got baileys or kalua ...whateves is fine...."  
  


Grymm shakes her head and rolls her violet eyes with aggravation. "Wait, aren't you the bad guy? You're getting married? Bad guys don't have likable backstories, that's what I've always heard." She furrows her brow and raises a hand to stroke at her chin in thought. "But ummm, maybe we should ask you why YOU are here. We were supposed to get like ummm super rich and stuff and now there's all these THINGS happening that are very distracting."

**The Black Spider doesn't let Robert close enough to actually heal him, but to see him closer to examine him, which, it's not great. He's incredibly pale, bruised and bloodied, probably got a concussion from the bump on his head. Not in great shape.** **   
**   
  
**He nods to you Gyrmm. "I can see how you might think that youngling, but I assure you my fiance is real. Miss Killian and Sapphia here can vouch for him, the wedding is in June won't that be lovely, I hope you can make it. oh! I was going to ask what you all were doing here but I bet I know already, you all are here for the ** **o̷̶̵̢̢͓̯͓̠̭͓̩̼͉̲̭͉̫͋̅͘ǝ̵̶̶̨̢̡̛̥͓̮̙̗̣̯̝͐͑̽̑̐̀̐̐́̌̈̏̌̃̎͊͒͑̕͜ņ̸̶̶̛̲̥̱̤̖͙̺̲̭̭̮̙̮̱͐͌͛̈́̋̅̓̅ͅͅ ̧̠̰̯͎̞͎ı̴̶̵̡̛͙͙̖̳̥͎̖͕͙͍͈̳͂͂̾̒̃̂̃͂͒̏͗͌̿̏́̕x̸̶̴̧̡̛̛̜̜͇̖͕͕̭̥̪̜̒̄͒͆̅͐͒̓͂͋̏̉̍̓͘ͅd̷̶̶̛̗̤́̆̐̓͝ͅ ̨̛̬̙̙̖͖͇̓̾̀͐̄͌̊̀̌͌ͅͅɥ̵̶̴̨̝̪̲̟̪̺̜̲̩͇͙̙͉̘̻̹̤̍̏̋͛̿̒̈͌̌͌̈͐̄̽͘͘͝ͅɐ̴̶̵̜̫̱͍̖̣͎͖̉̃̌̄̓͌̊̋̽͌͒̉̅̒́͒ ̯͍̗͎̖͙ʎ̴̶̸̧̢̡̝̤̻̬̬̺͍̱̳̮͈͓͈͕̻̦͈͈̳̦̉͛̀͗̈̑̇̈́̌͆̽ͅ ̵̶̸̧̫̭̺͙͍̤̲̗̦̫̼̖̱̜͈̣̮̜̰̾͆̿̀͒͗̈́́͘̕̕͜ı̶̶̶̢̻̩̬̈̐̂̌͛̃͋̈́̇͌̄̓͊̕͝ɹ̷̶̵̮̠̮̫̠̙̈́̏̀̈̋̌̆͗̑̉̓̇͛̇̅̂̈́̇̚͝͝͝ ̖͈̠̪̬ǝ̴̶̶̨̺̼̝̪̺̜͙̠͒̆͐̾͂̊̆̆̕ɟ̴̶̶̧̖̙̼̤͉̥̼̯̙͚͉̱͍͚̗̎͛̍̍̇͐͛̎̉͛̈́͗̒̓̽͌̂̈̚͜͝͝͠ɐ̶̶̷͂̒̽̔̂̋̂͌̿̓͘̕̚̕͜ ̼̪͔̫̬̟͒͆͜ʎ̷̶̷̡̨͈͈̮̲̩͚̩͑̇̄̓̎̎̽̂̀͗̐̒̽̈́͠͠ ̷̶̵̨̧̡͓̜̻̳̠͎̘̲͕͇̜̼̪͍̜̤̼͔̫̀̊̌̾́̚͠ͅɐ̶̶̸̡̜̜̲͔̥̜̪̓̍́̅͒̑̕͜n̸̶̴̢͇͈͉͉̩̬̱̳̭̭̈͛͋͗̌̃̆̃̌͂̆̿̌̓̿͒̓͛̕͝ ͈̼̒̎̋n̶̶̵̨̧̧̳̮̪̯̥̟̟̻̗̞͕̑̿͒͗̓̉͗͑̇̂̄̚̚͝͝͝ͅʇ̴̶̴̫͈̪͂̃̏͑̆́͆̿͂̔͂͋͌͌͋̎̈́͂̌̐͋̔̚͝l̸̛͕̂͛͋̎͂̑̀̽͋͘͘̚ ̶̶̡̯͙͇̥͖̬̙̎̈́̽̂̋͝lǝ̸̶̵̡̨̛̘͍̲̎͒̋̃̆͐̀̅͐̒͆̈́́̚̕͠͝ͅͅʇ̵̶̸̨͇͓̘͎͎̞͚̲̳̞͉̩̌̀̂͆̄̐̽̈̈́̿͋̆̈͘͝ƃ̴̯͉̞̖̓̓̆̕ ̶̷̛̙̰̮̙͙̰̣̗͓̺͇̯̈́̑̽͒̍̏͗̂͘͘͝ɐ̶̶̷̢̛̲̣͙̤̞̹͉͕̼̹̳͕̝̤̰̣̖͈͕̟̝̰͖̦̼̘͐̉̍͛̃̐͑̑̓͋̈́̓̕ʎ̴̛̭̙͋͛̈͆̐͂̏͑̌͝ ̶̸̢̘̥̻̩̬̜͈̮̲̻̖̳͖̪̃̚ ** **aren't you?"**

  
”We want that dwarf back. Now. Safe and alive. And we want the ladies back, too. Also safe and alive. If you can do that, then great. If not, you might need to call off the wedding.”  
  
Dina couldn’t stand Drow culture and the snooty way they taunted others while torturing and killing. And they fight like cowards, always sneaking about and shooting in the back. There wasn’t a real warrior among them.  
  
”You’ve taken enough blood. Step back so we don’t take yours.”

Sam chuckled. "She might have little ears, but she has a big mouth. Also I don't know what [insert random clips of courage the cowardly dog with no context] is, but we're really just here for that dwarf. He owes us money. How did he even get here anyway?"

**Sammy's sister was now frantically miming for you all to cut and leave, as the Black Spider finally moved his staff away from Killian. "I, of course, brought him, however, as sweet as your company has been, I'm afraid I'm going to find this solution inequitable." Then he points his staff at you.**

  
"so ... does this mean no drinks?" the dude was a bit disappointed, "oh, by the way, Mr Spider, who murdered the dwarf outside?" Bob said turning his staff to point at the Black Spider.

Sam glanced at his sister and sighed, then looked back towards the spider. "Well, it looks like you and your fiance won't get to be newly webs after all."

  
Grymm growled at the strange-sounding man as he pointed his staff at Bob. "HEY! Don't point your ugly stick at him!" She pulled her dagger from her belt and readied it for battle. This guy was going down for sure. "Look, we clearly aren't scared of you, you weiner. I mean, you're just one guy versus ALL of us! That's it..." She clapped her hands together and touched a nearby stone and it rocketed towards the Black Spider dangerously.  
  


  
**The Black Spider caught off guard by the apparent child's actual magic ability, gets hit in the face with the rock. On impact, the rock shatters, and an ugly-looking bruise starts forming on the Drow's face.  
  
Sapphia, seeing they aren't going to get out of here without involving the four of you, reels back her hammer and throws it at The Black Spider, who dodges it with ease, smirking and waving his finger at her.  
"Nuh-uh darling, you know that doesn't work on me."  
Sapphia grins as the hammer does a turn in mid-air, coming back to hit him over the head as it flys back into her hand. ** **"And you should know that my hammer always comes back to me. Soul-bound, remember?"**

  
Dina deeply inhaled and thought of every single Drow she knew who had killed her fellow soldiers. Even worse, of all the brave souls who died a slow, horrific death from their poison. Gnomes who were good little spellcasters. Wood elves who were your support archers. And even the occasional green dwarven recruit.  
  
And she was ANGRY!!!  
  
Dina raised her maul and let out a savage warcry as she rushed over at the Black Spider. Momentum must have been on her side, as the Battlerager pounded the Drow in the side with her mighty hammer.  
  
However, she DID remember the Dude's question from earlier. "DID YOU KILL THE DWARF IN THE MINES?! SPEAK, DROW!!"

**Dina hits the Black Spider before he can try to defend himself, throwing him backward from the force, right next to Sapphia and Gundren. He manages to pull himself up a bit, smiling to himself. "I didn’t kill the dwarf, any of them, actually. Not my style.” He winces just slightly and rubs his side. “Well, it seems my goose may be cooked yes? I know when I'm beat, however, I still have one more trick up my sleeve!" And with that, he snatches Gundren from Sapphia and rolls off the edge.** **  
  
You all look on in horror for a moment, before a pair of strong, dwarven hands grab the side and pull themselves up, then another set of hands pull up. Then standing before you, are two Gundren Rockseekers. They look at each other, and Gundren number one says in a low gravelly voice, ** **"Okay I think I see what's going on here. Listen okay, _I'm_ the real Gundren Rockseeker. I can tell you all anything you want to know about the cave or the Rockseeker clan."** ** And the other one goes, "No I'm the real Gundren Rockseeker!" In a very flamboyant tone that is immediately recognizable as the Black Spider.**

  
**"..."** the dude stared at the two Gundren Rockseekers seekers, the one speaking like the black spider still sporting his fresh bruises from Dina and Grymm’s attacks making the illusion even more obvious, "ok ... he can't actually be this dumb right ... maybe he switched voices with the real Gundren Rockseeker as well to fool us? maybe? what do you think Sammy, you're the smart one, that knows about the magic and stuff."

**The Left Gundren nods enthusiastically. "That is exactly what he did! That is a bad boy! He’s a bad boy with all kinds of sinister magicks!"**

Sam strides up to the two Rockseekers, he looks at one, and then the other. He looks towards the one that is obviously an imposter. "Hey spider-man. You're bugging me." and he casts magic missile.

**The missiles hit him full-on, knocking him off the edge to plummet towards the bottom. "Oh noooooooo! The mystery is solved! You’ve solved my final riddle, you are the new riddle master. ** **Congratulations. You have proven yourselves. quite the adventurers.** ** ᴵ’ᵐ ˢᵒ ᵖʳᵒᵘᵈ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉᵐ. ᴵ’ᵐ ᵍᵒᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵈᶦᵉ ⁿᵒʷ. ᴹʸ ˡᶦᶠᵉ ᶦˢ ᶠˡᵃᵍᵍᶦⁿᵍ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵐʸ ᵇᵒᵈʸ. ᴵ’ˡˡ ˢᵉᵉ ** **ᵐʸ ᶠᵃᵐᶦˡʸ. ᴳᵒᵒᵈᵇʸᵉ ᶜʳᵘᵉˡ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ.** **"** **  
  
And he's gone. Sapphia lets out a huge sigh of relief, looking kinda sad as she walks up to Killian, who is still webbed to the wall. She pulls out a small knife and starts cutting her free while Killian just looks, flabbergasted. ** **"I, cannot believe you did that. Like, that you guys pulled that off. Brian, Magic Brian, is one of the most accomplished, powerful wizards I have ever met in all of my days. I, that was amazing."**

"Wel..." Sam says "More like _they_ pulled it off." and he points towards Grymm and Dina.

**Killian nodded, rubbing her arms and picking up her crossbow. ** **"Right uh, capable women and all that. If you’ll excuse me, I need to recover something very quickly."** **   
  
**

**Sapphia nodded. ** **"And we need to have a chat. I'll go with her, none of you go anywhere."** ** She gave a pointed look to you Sammy before letting Killian tap them both with a Feather Duster, enveloping them in soft grey light and jumping off the edge of the quarry. Floating down very slowly.** **  
  
Gundren meanwhile, rubs his head and moves a good bit away from the edge.**

Sam turned to the dwarf. "So. Fortune and glory huh?".

Dina waved her maul around again before finally exhaling as the battle rage finally ebbed. She then put the weapon on her back again. It was hard to shake out of this but she did her best.  
  
She turned and looked at her fellow dwarf.  
  
”So you’re Gundren. Good to finally meet you as I’ve heard so much about you. I’m sure that El Duderino can help to patch you up.”  
  
Dina exhaled and looked back at the group. “It feels good to have a real weapon back in my hands again. Anyway, nice job, team.”

Grymm moved towards the edge of the pit and peered downwards. "_That_ was the Black Spider everyone was going on about? We could've handled him with our eyes closed!" Suddenly, a purple glow of energy surrounded her tiny frame and her nose wiggled back and forth before she let out a tiny sneeze. With a _'zzzZZZZ-POP'_ she disappeared in a flash of magical light.  
  
Then there was another popping noise as she appeared again about 20 feet to the side, next to Dina. She blinked a few times with confusion before wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "Excuse me." She said with a coy, embarrassed smile. "Mr. Ummm Rockseeker, sir... Where are all the treasure and stuff? Oh, and are you feeling okay?"

"Teleporting sneezing this time huh" Bob commented on Grymm 'condition' "well at least it isn't as bad as last time" he shuddered  
  
"Hey Gundren, how yuh been... you look like shit" he laughed, "but you're alive at least, let me get you up to speed while I patch you up." as Bob begins magically healing the dwarf he continues "so after the ambush we followed your trail to a goblin cave, we recused Barry but they had already taken you and luckily he still had that 'map' you left him with so we came here," he finished healing the dwarf as much as he could for now but he would surely still need to rest after all the blood loss he was still pale.  
  
"Don't push yourself too hard yet, but maybe you can fill in the blanks for us, those people working for you too?" he asked  
  
"... also ... about our 10 gold? the supplies are back in town by the way if you still need them." he added

**He breathes a sigh of relief. "Ah, yeah that's much better, thanks. Uh, no I have no idea who THEY are, but, they tried to help I guess. Or at least stop him from killing me so that works." He chuckles walking towards the heavy metal door and fishing out a key to unlock it. "As for payment, when I get open this vault, there'll be no need for you to work ever again."**

**Gundren leads you through the now open iron-wrought doors, which opens up to a huge chamber where an unactive jackhammer sits, and through a much smaller, more normal set of doors. Through a short tunnel and then into yet another chamber which contains a third door. It's a large, metal vault door, more circular compared to the rectangles you've been walking through.**

Grymm looks to Robert with some confusion that swiftly turned into a frustrated glare, "Whaaaat? I said excuse me." She began following Gundren down more halls and doors. "I know it's hiding all this great treasure and stuff but don't you think the amount of doors is a little excessive?" She blew out a puff of air. "I'm getting more of a workout from this walking than I did fighting that purple doofus back there."

Dina felt rather happy as the group managed to dispatch the Black Spider without much loss or difficulty. But it also seemed easy. Too easy. Surely a place like this with untold riches would also be sought out by many others. Although if they didn’t have the map, who knew? Still it didn’t feel like she was done. Dina has a feeling that she’d still be working for a while.  
  
”Are there any other enemies you have who know about this place? We got the Spider but what about anyone else who might steal treasure like this? I fear we may not be safe, at least not when it comes to money like this.”

While Gundren led the others off down the adjacent hall, Sam stayed behind, next to the pit. He sat down and waited for his site to return. For as much gusto as he'd showed in the battle that had just occurred, he was still terrified. It had been...nearly two years since he stopped sending her letters. He felt so many emotions upon seeing her again. He was scared she would hate him, but he was happy to see her. At the very least, he owed her a conversation. So he sat down on the ground of the chamber, and waited.

**Gundren waved his hand. ** **"No one else should know about this place, I suspect my brother Nundro was blabbing to the wrong people. No need to worry."** **  
Bob as you enter you see a figure huddled down and as you approach it, you get a better appraisal of what this figure is. It is a skeleton, that is sort of sitting comfortably. It looks like it was positioned comfortably in the corner of this room, just sitting with its back up against the wall. It is draped in a bright, crimson robe and holding what looks to be some sort of cane, with a, you know, curled end in one hand that is a bit obscured by its robe, it’s a bit tucked into its robe. But it’s just sitting there, but whoever this was they have been dead for a very long time. And Gundren kind of just looks at that figure and walks over to the door and starts looking inside the machinery, seeing what he can do.**

  
”So are we not allowed to talk about the dead guy in robes? Do you know anything about him, Gundren?”  
  
Well, either way she was going to have a look at the body to see if there was anything special about the corpse or the special cane he had.

**Dina looks over the body, and oddly enough, the robe and skeleton seem to be in good condition, though how the robe and cane have stayed in such good condition while the rest of the skeleton's clothes have disappeared you don't know. You assume it was some sort of magic keeping it.**

**  
  
Meanwhile, Sammy you hear Killian and Sapphia arguing down below, the sound getting louder till finally Killian climbs over the edge with Sapphia on her back.  
** **"And I'm saying you need to toughen up! Clearly the kid is stronger than she looks, think of Carey, she's small but a huge threat! You can't be soft cuz she reminds you of-"** ** Sapphia sees you Sammy and pauses, climbing off of Killian who looks around the cavern.**

"The cane seems like magic Dina, we should probably give Sammy we go back so he can tell us what it is," Bob says reaching for the cane, "So is this a vault or tomb Gungren?"

**Robert grabs hold of the handle of the cane and for a second is overwhelmed with energy before being flung back across the cave to the opposite wall.** **  
  
Gundren, not noticing the commotion behind him he's so focused on this door, shrugs. ** **"It's more like a vault, I mean, it could be a tomb? So the story here is my father, Cyrus Rockseeker, as in charge of security for Wave Echo Cave. And when the orc marauders came to destroy Phandalin and seek out the Wave Echo Cave and take it over, he managed to very heroically lock away all of the magical items, magical weapons, equipment, trinkets, everything, away in the mine’s personal vault, which is here behind me. Unfortunately, in order to do so, he also had to… lock himself in. So he sadly sacrificed himself. Fortunately, this door is attuned to Rockseeker blood, um, so I can open it up and we can have ourselves a field day with the treasures and weapons and everything within."**

Grymm quickly grows bored as Gundren starts prattling on about... Something something vault... something something sacrifice. She gasps and Bob is thrown across the room by something and sees a can near a skeleton. That must have been the cause of his fun-looking experience. "My turn!" She shouts, as she runs full speed at the cane and tries to grab it.

_"ouch ..."_Bob rubbed at his neck as he sat up from being thrown across the room, just then he heard Grymm say her turn, "Wait, No!"

**Grymm grabs the cane and for a moment Grymm, you feel the same electricity run through you, then, you feel a presence, as if the cane itself has accepted you as it's own. Then it's like a fireworks display has gone off around you, lighting up the area with colorful sparks before simmering down as you pull the cane out. The skeleton moves, raising a hand for a moment as if to reach for you, before dissolving into dust along with the robe.**

She flinched as the skeleton reached for her, closing both eyes in fear. She peeked one eye open and saw that it had disappeared somehow and focused back on the cane. She held it up and stared at it, frustrated.  
Grymm waved the cane up and down through the air, shaking it as if trying to activate something in it and finally threw it behind her. "Ding dang it, Bob, you broke it!" She whined.

Bob braced to catch the young girl... then nothing. He stood up in amazement, the girl has overcome the items ego, then said he tosses it aside he walked over, "hey wait Grymm, that was an intelligent magic item, they don't just let anyone hold or wield them, it may very well be powerful and it has accepted you," he motioned to the cane, "you shouldn't just toss it aside."

"Um...Hi." He says, nervously and awkwardly. He didn't know what to expect and he was honestly scared to do this. He was trying currently, to control his breathing and calm down.

**Sapphia hesitates a moment, before rushing forward and just crushing you in a hug. ** **"I am so glad you're okay. Where did you go? You just disappeared! All of my letters were sent back to me with no response!"**

Sam practically collapses in his sister's arms, he couldn't even measure the relief he felt that she hugged him instead of punching him. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I should've written you I just got so distracted." he sighs. "A lot happened. I haven't even been at Telora for...almost two years."

**Sapphia sighed. ** **"You should've said something, at the very least to your friends. They've been just as worried as your parents and I have been."** ** She released you then, looking you over a bit more. ** **"You have gotten taller though."** **  
  
Killian clears her throat, pointing towards the now open door that Gundren led the others through earlier. "** **Uh, I hate to break this up, but so long as none of us like, die in the next half-hour or so, you'll have to continue this later.** **"**

**Sapphia sighs and nods, picking up Sammy's hat to ruffle his hair before brandishing her hammer. ** **"Yeah, let's go stop the destruction of the world."**

Sam stands up and follows Sapphia. "The end of the world?" he inquired. "Also who's your friend?"

**As Killian, Sapphia and Sammy follow after the others at a brisk pace, she answers:** ** "Oh, that's Killian, "** ** who waves. ** **"She's a friend and, let's say a coworker, of mine. As for the end of the world. . ."** **she trails off.** **   
** **"We can't tell you."** ** Killian finishes.**

"I see. Mysterious. Well I guess I'm glad to be here then." He said, party serious and partly sarcastic.

Dina walked over to Bob and Grymm, looking more at the young one than the Dude.  
  
”Grymm, the Dude knows a thing it two about magical items. You have to be careful with that.”  
  
She shook her head. “You’ll shoot your eye out with that thing!”

**Gundren blinks and rubs his eyes a second as the vault door slowly opens. ** **"Wow, you guys are crazy huh. Well, now that it's open. . ."** ** And looking down the small passageway, he trails off. You can't see anything further down, it's almost pitch black. ** **"Here we go."** **  
  
You all follow him down this dark hallway, Gundren taking a torch from the wall to carry down, and as you all walk, you hear a *plink, plink* Like glass. And then you realize, that the ground beneath you is glass. And then you reach the end and enter into this strange chamber, all made of this dark, black glass that reflects the light of the torch. In the middle of this chamber is a completely burned, charcoal figure of a dwarf, with one arm up covered in what looks to be a silver gauntlet. And you hear Gundren go: ** **"I mean, that's my dad but, something, something's not right. There should be treasure and magical artifacts, not. ."** ** He gestures around him and to the figure in the middle of the room.**

  
Grymm picked up the magical cane and waved it through the air up and down, she then pulled it close to her face, staring at the handle as she spoke to it, "Are you really made of magic? Do you want to be my friend? I'll be your friend." She hugged the cane and tapped it on the ground playfully as she followed the others. She pursed her lips at Dina, "I'll be careful, promise! What should I name it?" Just then, the tapping of the cane made a 'tink' noise and Grymm started to notice the glass, looking down at her reflection. "What the flumph is up with all this black tinky stuff?"

Dina eyed the new magical device in the Tiefling's hand with suspicion. These things never worked out very well and the dang device was attached to a dead guy. That HAD to have been bad news. "Just you be careful with that thing. You don't know where it's been." Well, they DID know where it had been, but that was the reason for caution in the first place.  
  
She then looked at the charcoal dwarf. "Wait a moment...that's your dad? And there's supposed to be treasure here?" It was hard to believe that there wasn't more emotion from seeing a dead father. Unless the two had never been that close? "Well...if he turned to charcoal over this...maybe the treasure isn't a healthy thing to possess in the first place?"

**Gundren seemed to be getting more and more angry over this. ** **"But it's my BIRTHRIGHT. How could THIS be the only thing left! It's ALL I have LEFT!"** **  
  
And just then you hear. ** **"** **W** **h** **a** **t** **d** **i** **d ** **w** **e** **T** **E** **L** **L** **y** **o** **u** **?** **"** **  
And turning around the four of you see that Killian, Sapphia, and Sammy had entered the room, with Killian looking very disappointed. ** **"We told you guys to stay put! It was like maybe a minute!"** **  
Sapphia patted her arm. ** **"A little more than that, but still a good point."** **  
Killian surveys the room a moment before seeing the gauntlet in the middle and pulling out her crossbow while nudging Sapphia who nods.  
  
**

**"Everyone, very slowly, step away from the charcoal dwarf. That thing, on its arm, is indescribably dangerous."** **  
  
Gundren just looks at her and says. ** **"Are you all working with this filthy orc?"** **  
  
Sapphia stiffens next to her and Killian says: ** **"Did you just call me filthy dude?"** **   
  
** **"This gauntlet, everything in this vault is my birthright. There's no way I'm giving this thing up to you."** **   
  
** **"Don't test me. Don't test me! I had a real long day. I got all webbed up in the other room, hated that."** **   
  
** **"Don't turn this into a fight you can't win Gundren Rockseeker. We don't want to hurt you."** **  
  
Gundren turns to the three of you standing near him. ** **"Guys, you've served me very well. I have one last job for you. I need you to take those two out."** **   
  
** **"Hooold up! Not so sure about that decision. Doesn't seem like a good one."**

**Sapphia steps in front of Sammy just a bit.**

"Mr. Rockseeker Please calm down." Sam says very calmly as he attempts to cast charm person "I'm sure there's a very reasonable explanation."

**This time he gets angry at Sammy. ** **"And now one of you try to CHARM ME? You know what I think is a better idea?"** **  
  
And he grabs for the gauntlet, very quickly, and puts it on his hand. His dad crumbles over and for a second his face contorts in pain. ** **"Oh, oh I feel really bad-"** ** And then he screams as he's engulfed in flame. But very quickly the flames subside, though his hair is standing on end, just straight up. ** **"This, I feel so, _powerful._"** **  
  
And Sapphia pushes Sammy back as hard as she can behind her, brandishing her hammer as Killian starts to back up a bit too. ** **"Well, crap."** ** And Killian shoots a bolt at Gundren, that he extends a hand towards and completely burns it up before it reaches him.** **   
** **"Everyone step away, from the firey dwarf now."** **  
  
  
Dina when trying to figure out the gauntlet, your mind hits a wall. Much like how when Killian, the Black Spider, and even Sammy's sister Sapphia have spoken certain words, a static fills your mind and gives you nothing but a headache.**

"Ok! Angry Dwarf! Angry Dwarf! Time to move!" Sam exclaims as he starts to move back towards the hall that led to this chamber. 

Dina didn't need to be told twice. She stepped back away from the evil magicky thing that she didn't understand and repressed the urge to call out to a gnome to explain it.

Grymm hadn't even noticed that her hand had been taken as she stared at the dwarf wide-eyed, mouth agape. "Shiiinyyyy~"  
  
However, as this wasn't the time to question the wisdom of others, she took Grymm's hand and stepped back.  
  
"Love you, dear, but this isn't the time to ask questions or look at the shiny shiny. We need to get out of here so someone isn't killed."  
  
She then moved back as instructed. After seeing what happened before, she knew better than to try that gauntlet thing again.

  
She was cut off instantly as Dina pulled her away from the scene of destruction. She ran alongside her as she furrowed her brow in disappointment. "Waaaiiit, What about Gundren? What about the others? Why does he look so scary? My brain feels fuzzy..."  
  
She looked back with concern as they ran away to see if the others were following them. "Come on, everybody! Time to goooo~!"

A lot had happened all at once and the dude was still reeling from being blown across the room, as the dwarf grabbed the gauntlet and became engulfed in a ball of fire all he managed looking at the raging man was, "so... umm about that 10 gold? for the supply delivery?" he asked still rubbing at his neck, "I realize this is probably not the best time, with the family death and the vault being empty and all that but it's the principle of the matter you know like we did the job man."  
  
The angry miner turned his ire towards the cleric his eyes aflame as he roared a breath akin to dragon fire that bob just managed to duck as it lit his hat on fire, " umm ... ok so we will deal with this later then," he managed suddenly coming to his sensing and joining his friends in a speedy retreat

**You all start to hide behind Killian and Sapphia who have kind of taken the lead here, and Gundren says: ** **"I'm done with this. It's payback time." ** **And then, quick as a child's wish he flies out of the chamber, and you can hear the echo of the flames just woosh throughout the chambers as the light from him fades.**

**   
  
** **"That went, just about as bad as it possibly could have."** **  
Sapphia throws her arms up in the air. ** **"Well, at least we aren't dead yet! There's that."** ** The two of them turn around to face you. Both of their faces are dead serious. **

**"We need to find him, we need to stop him before he destroys the whole world." Killian says.** **   
  
**

**Sapphia sets her hammer back on her belt. "We aren't going to lie, I'm pretty sure this is WAY above all your paygrades."** **   
  
**

**"Y'all down?"**

  
Dina stopped and blinked several times in succession.  
  
”I’m sorry, what? Destroy the entire world? I thought that gauntlet was going to kill him. Didn’t it kill his father? And now he’s suddenly super powerful? Will someone please tell me what in the nine hells just happened?”

Sam was still shaking. They could've all died just now! His breaths had gotten shallower and his chest had grown a bit tighter, but it wasn't as bad as last time. "I'm sorry" he said between breaths. "But I have to agree with Dina on this one." a few more breaths. "You keep saying you can't tell us but..." _Breathe Samuel!_ "Is it really going to matter if we're all dead?"

Robert stood looking at the trail of smoke as the dwarf flew off, "that guy is a forest fire waiting to happen..." he grumbled to himself. "I don't know if you gals are just being dramatic with this whole fate of the world business, but I have grown pretty fond of earth and all of its inhabitants, so we got to save it," he took a moment and lit his pipe, "yeah, I guess I'm in."  
  
"Plus.." he added a wolfish smile at Grymm and Sammy, "that dwarf owes us money."

Grymm watched with awe as the super Saiyan dwarf went wooshing above her and out of the vault. This all was a bit much for her. She had heard of magical items before, in fact she apparently had one in her possession, though she wasn't sure of it's purpose besides keeping one from getting wet on a rainy day. However, she has never seen a glove that could make a man become fire and fly. She wanted that - it was pretty darn cool. She turned back to Sapphia and Killian with surprise in her eyes.  
  
"Well, if the world is in danger, and we live on the world... We should probably save it and umm probably save ourselves right? But how are we gonna do that? I mean, I'm pretty good at magic stuffs and umm you guys are pretty good too. But I almost got murderized by a boogerman yesterday and I think he could make me turn into a campfire..." She kicked a rock at her feet as she looked down shamefully.

**Killian started to look more frustrated, while Sapphia patted her arm, though looking impatient and anxious herself. ** **"I know it's scary, but we really CAN'T tell you."** **   
** **  
"No, I'll do it. I'll explain it ALL to them. So that thing just now was the ơ̵̶̵̧̨̪͖̹̪͚̦̠͔̘͈̟̟͂̒̂͂̓̄͑͛̉̍͂̐̽̽͐̐͝͠ͅǝ̷̶̶̧̨̨͎̝͍̠̖͕̬̝̣͉̜̼͉͔̙͐̀̒̀̉̃̆͑̇̐̚͠͠͝͠n̸͌́̆͒̂͒͂̎͒͘̚ ̶̵̢̟͚̭͎̰̯̰̓͑͊͊͐̓̈̈́͛̏͑͘̚͠ı̸̶̵̡̡̛̪͈͍̮̩̺̩̞̺̦̲͔̟̗͓̠͛͛̆͆̑̃̋̈̈́͊̃̑̏̈̔̽̉̐̇̆͐̒̆̕͠ͅx̷̶̶͎̠̙̩͌̿̔̍͝ͅ ͉̝̙̟̬̰̫͔̳̗̭̤̹͛̅ď̶̶̸̨̞̣̹͖̣̫̰̭̏͝͠ɥ̵̶̷̳̘̝̟̘̪̥̬͔͕͖̽̍̍̑͂̔͛̋̓̽͘̚̕͝͝ɐ̷̶̸̟̯͉̽̒̔̊̒̊̈́̈́̐͆̆̃̊̈͌͒͝ ̨̖͙ʎ̷̶̸̧̧̢̦̰̻͎̪͈͔̩̭̪̠͕̖͍̦͚̰͕̞͊͒̈́̃̌̊̽̍̅̎̓̌̀̚͜͜͠͠ͅ ̷̶̷̯͔̠̻̺̝͎͉̃̑̃̅͑̂̊̂̿̋͑̄̈͗͌̕ı̷̶̴̡̘̱͚͙̩̞̘̯̲̣̳͔͔̪͕͙͍̱̹̤͙̼̘̝̔̋͆̈̎̈́̊̏͝ɹ̴̛̪̯̜̮̫̠̼̜̈́̽̍̅̉̊͗̉͐̉̈́̆͘͜ ̶̴̢͈̗̘̥̙̫͎̟͖̺̠͓͙̝̽̇͆̓̎̏̈̄͜͜ǝ̴̶̵̨̢̘̣̭͔͍̘̯̘͓̬͑̐̌͊͌̕͝͝ɟ̷̶̴̳̘̦̠̭̫̘͈̯̖͖̟̉̔̓̂́͐͌͗̑͌̽̏̏͑̓̄̐̕̕̕͜͝ ̨̧͈̼̲̟̗̮͖͑͊ɐ̵̶̸̨̨̛̘̗̥̪̭̣͔̲̱̮͔͚̪̠̓̌̓̅͑̍̓̄̾͗̂̏͑͌̕̕͝ʎ̷̶̶̙̳̱̖̞̝̗̝͌́̍̂͑̂̊͛̇̈́̚͠͠ͅ ̵̶̷̢̢̛̙̙͇̟̘̼̖͎̗̭̖̮̃̑͑͂̍̊̓̀̂͜͠ɐ̸̶̵̢̨̢̛̞̟͚͉͙̱̭͎̭̯̬͙̞̥̼̞͍̩̯̅̄̋͊͛͛͌̄͝n̵̶̡̩̪͚͇̲̜͉̮͖̰̦̬̓̍̌̇̕͘ͅ ̸͖͖̜̰͙̯͙̪̖͍͖̩̩̫̄͊̓͑̿̿̒͘ͅn̸̶̸̡̢͉͍̤̤͈͈̗̯̟̈́̏̐̆̓͊̔̒̒̔͜͜ʇ̴̶̶̧̨̺͇̻̱̹̭̞̞͈̦̝̬̯̥̉͛͂̌̌̌̒͒̾̔̅̚͘͜͝͝͝ ̟̣̳̜l̵̶̴̨̧̺̙̘̻͉̠̮͈̩̪̤̼͓̗͙͕̅̄͒̐̎̋̃̊͒̎̎͌̓͊̊̆͗̕̕͠ǝ̴̶̷̩͖̲̭̹̳̻̟̖͖̪̹̘̼͔̅̌̊̒͋̃͆̓̓̄̐̌̐̀̇̆̓͂̈͆͌ͅ ̘ʇ̸̶̶̨̧̛͖̺̜̬̺̞̦̣̺̳̗͚͚̪̩͙̯̪̰̹̦͖̲̄̎͂̿̑̅̈́̋̃͌̐͋̈́̉̓͐̅͂̀͌̚̚̕͜ͅƃ̴̶̵̨̢̠̳̣̹̣͉̳̜̹̪̝͚͇͇̺͋̌̉͛̓̿͛̑͒̈́̌́ ̡͇͚̩͚̫͓͓̫ͅͅɐ̵̶̶̡̢̱̮̱̟̮͈̣̘͖̦̦̣͉̭̼̓̊̍͋͋͊̂̿͒̈̽̑̒̂͋̀͗̐̕ͅʎ̷̶̸̢̧̟̺̣͈̱͕͇͖̮̬̦͉̳̉͗͑̈́̎̍̈͑͆̈́̈́̆̆̍̒͝ͅͅ ̲̪. It was ǝ̴̶̶̨̮̱̱̰̜̠̯͍͙̝̻͓̮͇̯͈̦̙̺̋͊̈́́̈̇́͜͠͝ͅɐ̶̶̵̡̛̰̖̯͉̣̗̤̱̰̮̳̣̳͕͉̝͖͂͛̈̇͗̍̑̅̽̋̒̇̐̑͂̾̒͐̕͘ʇ̵̑̄̓̑̌̈́̉̋̏͝ ̶̸̛̳̫̝̱͓͚̥͙̪̗̖̭̯̳̘̫͛̽̊͜ǝ̸̶̸̡̧̛͉̞͇̖͍͇͇̻̟͖͉̤̟͔̽̐̍̒̋̐͐͂͋͂͆̊͛͗̆̄̚̚͜d̵̶̸̛̞̯̖̲͔̞͒̏͗̒̏̈́͐͗͘͠͠͝ͅ ̧̺̥̖̲̻̪̤͎͕̬͇̓̒̍̽̾̍̿͘͜ɔ̷̶̴̢̪͍͔̼̹̼̗̱̫̠̽͆̊̉̽͛̉̈́̊̄͜͠͝ɹ̷̶̸̧̥͉̬̻̠̫̗͖̞̹̥̖̞̲̥̎̽̈́͆̽̓̓̉̽͑͆͊̔̈́̈͌͗ ̬̱͙ͅɐ̵̶̴̯̲͙̺͖͓̦̪͈̻̦̪̦̬̭̬̫͉͖͔͈̟̄͛͑̔̿̊̽͋͋͗͊͆̆̎̃̂͘͝͝ʎ̶̶̷̧̨̧̛͉̬̘̬͚̼̩̫̠̝̪̋̏̆͋̋̓͌͊̆͛̇́̈́͒̅̚̚̕͘͠͝ ̨̺͇̗̭̦ ̶̶̷̢̙͙̞̤̣̭͓̱̱̱̈́̃̒̍̿̂̋ʎ̴̶̶̰̜͚̰̬̭̫̓̈̀̄̄̇͘͝͠b̶̶̸̨̧̢͍̘̹̤̗̞̖̟̙̮̣̠̹̰̩̖͐̄̈́͛͑͆̅͂̽̈́̈̓̿̋̔̚ɐ̶̈͒̑̎͊͒ ̶̸̨̰͔̰̮̙̣̬̣͔̪͕͍̎̑͗̅̓̏̃͒͘̕ʎ̵̶̷̨̗̮̝̬̣̰͚̞̿̓͒͌̾͐͗͂͒̕ ̷̶̸̡̧̡̛͖̘̟̪̝̙̯̳͕̘̩̤̠͒̍͋̊̎̉̑͝͝͠ɐ̷̶̵̧̛̦̝͔͇͉̖̟͍̠̼̦̯̥͍̪̝͔͇̪̭͎̖͒͐͆̄̑͑̅͋̈́͝ʎ̶̢͙͉͓̺̪̞͖̆̎̉͐̄̔̐̅̃͐̕ ̶̴͖̘̟̝̬̯̫̺̬̰̈́̾̓̽̽̕͘ͅɐ̶̶̶̢̧̝͇̤͕͓̞͓̰͖͉͙͖̊͂̌̍̽̇̾͘ʎ̷̶̵̗̭͔̭̞͉̱̟̞̙̱͎͇͖̯̟̙̹̝̦͕̯̥̤̳̹̈́͌̒̀͑̚ͅ ̶̶̵̛̹̙͈̣͕͇̩̯͉͓̯̖̯͖̬̼͇̺̪̺͎̻̰̫̒̅̇̏̇̈͋̆̋̉͂̈̽͝o̶̶̶̻̥͈̦̭̖͔̼̼̙̩̻̹̪̻̓̄̐̂͆̽̽͛͌̽̿̕͜n̴̶͚̣͚̓̈́͊̔̐̕͝͝ ̷̢̛̛̬̩̟̳͚̬̟͙͈̈̄͗̈́̾̔̿͂ḑ̴̶̸̱͕̞̦͚̻͎̠̤̝̩̺̆̋͒̽̈́͋͋̉̑̃̅̿͐̕̚ƃ̵̶̵̢̛̛̹̣̤̱̳̓̈́̾̿͌͂̈́̑̉͌́̂͐͛͂̕̕͘̕͝͝ͅ ̢͇͖̜͇͈̖͎̖͚͖̭ɹ̴̶̷̨̧̢̧̛̥̜͈̫̥̹̖̻̫͔͔̺̟̪̘͔̞̹̯̘͕̋̅̔̎͒̑̇̄̅̈́͛̅̂͋̂͘͝͠ɐ̷̶̴̧̢̪̞̰͈̰̞͔̲̣͉̬̖̞͒̄͒̉̅̌̎̂͋ ̡̧̥̯̳̩̻̦̥̪̦͇̬͒ʎ̶̶̸̡̧̲͈̝̱͖̱͇͉̫͖̞͇͋̄̿͂̄͐͆̍̐̐̓̊̏̾̅̊͋͐͋̊͒̕͘͘͜͜ͅ ̶̶̸̡̡͙͖͎͕̰̟̖̭̲̗̩̗̙͚̒͐͊́̆̿̏̿̕ͅǫ̵̶̵̛̣̙̦͚͖̲̮̼̙̃̾͌̎͋̂̅̋̿̒͋͒̇̀͐̓̐͌̌͆̒̕̕ͅɟ̴̡̛̙̺̓̒͋̀̎̍̂̀̽͒̈͜͝͝͝ ̶̷̧̲̘͓͉̯̣̤̠̬̘̩̝̹̳͔͊̃̃̑̌̔ʎ̵̶̴̛̞͚͈̦͍̹̩̥̺̼̪̟̼̙̝̈́͂͂̇͑̔̀̔͑̌̋͌̒̂̐̃̐̾͌̚͘̚͜͝͠͠ɐ̸͙̰͉͖̒͐̀͒͆̆̇̈̂̑͘͝ ̶̵̢̡̙̝̣͓͇̩͍̥̘̅́͗̋̆͘ͅʎ̷̶̵̨̰͕̯͍̰̣̦̗͇̈́͂̽̈́̐͋̉̈́͛̉̌͐̓̑͒̚̕͘͜͝ͅ ̵̶̷͖̙̞̻̝̜͇̞͙̿̆̅̔͂͌̊̅̀͝ǝ̴̶̴̡̧̡̡̡̨̛̻̳̼̫̟̥̩̦̩͖͙̮̿̅͛̿̾̒̈̒̇͒̊̆͊̓̄̈́̒͒̚̚̚͝d̴̶̵̠̹͙̘̐̎̉͋̂͛͂̈́͐̂͘̕ ̢͍̩̫̭̗̼̫͈̮̑͘ɹ̶̶̵̨͎̜̥͔̠̩̣͍͇̭͈͙̱̰͂̔͂̈͗̏̇̉͌͆͛̚͝ͅɐ̵̶̴͙̤͔̻͔̟̱̲̤̣͇͋͋̌͗̌̽̈́̌͆̈́͝ʎ̷͖̿͑̄́͗͆̾̒̿̂͛͛͗͗̚ ̶̴̡̧̡̦̺͉̖̭͚̦̹̳̬̹͇̼̺̬͉̣̝͓͓͉͎͍̬̜̀͜͝ ̷̶̷̧̧̙̰͔͖̭̦͕͍͎̗̆͑̈̓͊̓̈́̈̎̑́̚o̵̶̶̡̢̩̪̫̰̯̙͖͎͇̟̟̞͈̜͊̂̓̈́̿̑̒͑̑̈́̊̋̈̕͝͠͝͠ḇ̵̶̶̡̼̗͖̝͇̫̫̓̇͆͐̏͑͂͊͌̈͠ ͍̬͕͙̯͔̗̹̏̍͌̌ͅǝ̶̶̵̧̮͙̠͚̭̠̣̺̟͇̤̳̰̫͍̞̞̞̍̾̓̿̑̇̋̑̍̿͋̀͘͠͝s̸̶̷̡̤̟͎̲̠̰̫̬̟̱͇̖̹̩̒̅̋̎̑̋̍̊̃͆̔̔̇̋̈́̊̚͘͝ ɹ̴̶̵̧̧̣̣͙̝̰̰̘̤̖̲͒͌̋̅̓̌͐̈́͆̃̾͂̑̆̌̕͝ɐ̴̶̶̧̘̜̜̻̺̠̮̳̙͍̆͗̃̃̍̆̿̂͛̈́͂̋̽̑͜͜ͅʎ̷̶̸̡̞̬̫̱̔́̋͊̊̉̅͋̌́̈́͐ ̡̠̖͈͉͓͘͝ And we are ǝ̴̶̸̡̨̘̱͔͎̙̙̮̗̫̅̓̾̅̈̓̐̂̉̾͗̕̕͝ɔ̷̶̵̧̡̭̘̣͈͉̳̟͉̟̋̄͑͋͊̊͊̎͝ļ̵̶̵̨̛͙̳̞̝͉̝͓͔̭̠̭͍̈́̍͑̂̃̐̈̎̇̉̀͜͜͠ͅ ͇ɐ̸̶̴̡̢̮̪̗̦̬̹̤̞̬̜̣̹̺̙̠̠͉̥͖͎̝͚̞̍̆͒̃̏̓͆ı̷̶̶̨̡̨͚̗̩̰̭̭̮̹̬̯̝̝͚̹̲̄̽̈́̈́͐͊̆͠ɯ̴̶̷̨̧̯͎̣̱̺̥̙̒͗̾̃͐̃͠͝ͅǝ ̷̶̸̢̠̖̻̝̫̫̲̖̹͓̖̔̋̊̐̑͛͘͜͝ɹ̸̶̴̧͖̥̳̳̜̯̮͚̹͔̙͕̺͉͕̮̞̯͈͕̖̖̲̞̹͗̈̓̄̾́̎̒́̀̀͘̕̕͘ş̵̶̶̝͇͓̒͌̌̅̏͑̓̐͌͆̓̃ ̤̘̖͛̽͛̈̓̈͋͝ͅɹ̷̶̶̛̱̫̦̮͇̝̖̩̳̯͉̙̭̗̿͌̈́̽̓̇̇̿̇̿̇́̾̓̔̏̇̈́͊̕͜͝ɐ̴̶̴̛̤̭̹̠̬̣͖̙͕̼͐̆͊͂̑̆̐̊͆̎̌͛́̃̏̇͘͝ʎ̴̓̏ ̶̸͈̜̍̽̈́̂̊̐͆̓̇͐̍̕̕̚͠͝͠ ̴̶̴̡̡̛͚͔̙͚̣̝̱͈̝̫̭̟̜͚̩̱̜̼͍̼̦̘̝̽͛̃̽̌̕ǝ̵̶̵̡̻͖̭̳̮̰͕̫̫͇̱̹̥̘̤̣̾̈́͆ͅn̶̶̸̛̝̈́̽̃̓̽̓̒͗͋́̈́͗͌́̆͆̅͂͗̀̊̇̔̚ ̨̙̘̱̫͈̺̰͙ʇ̷̶̶̪̗̟͍̻̣̥̖̻̺̰̦̤̻̟̙̆̔ş̵̶̸̢̣͇̤̯͕̱̦̻̜͉̋̔̐͊̇͌̽̐́̿͆̿͂̌̊̌͒̒͋̃͆̊̚͠͝ɐ̶̶̷̮̙̿̿̈̿̀̒̅̓̃͝ ͍̯͓͈͍̻̳̮̻̱͈̮̫̲ʎ̷̶̸̧̻̤̝͔̭̺̝̖͉̘͚̄̿̓̂̓̎̎͛̃̏̈̐͘ͅ ̷̶̵̡̹͓̻̗̜̘̱͓̼̳̆̇͝ͅʎ̸̶̷̨̡̯͕̠͍̲͙͖͚̜̤̹̪͔̊̾̃͛̃̊̍͂̿̌̒̐̉̀̂̔͋̕͠͠͝b̴̗̣͚͇̬̤̲̙̙̦̬͎̳̆͐̄͒̐͒̑͋̽̀̏̏̕͝ͅ ̶̴̡̛̯̤̝͎̰̖͓̝̺̳̦͓̠̂͒ͅɐ̷̶̷̢̨̨̙̗̹̦̠͙̭̞̰̤̩̯̦̯̬̓̎͜͠ʎ̴̶̴̨̡̛͉̭͚̗̞̰̺̫̠̱͖̞̤͚̜̤̯̓̅̂̄̆͗̊̄̈́̎͋̌̔̀̔͆̍̉̚ ̖͈̣ͅͅ ̷̶̷̡̡̡̢͍̩̼̜̼͖̳͖̫̪̼͙͖̈́̑̈́̑͐͌̇̾̂̒̊͝ͅǝ̵̶̴̢̠̞͓̲̜͍͔̦͉̜̺͎̎̈́͐̊͛̒̒̐͌̈́̍ʇ̴̶̵̨̢̟͇͕̤̥̝̜̆̒̄͋̆̾̔̽͠ɥ̸̋̑͝ ̶̸̨̧̪̫͎͓̓̄͗̿̒̐́͌̒͛͂̋̋̽̈͛̂ͅɐ̸̶̴̛͖̭̥̳͓̠̯̟͉͓͙͙̭͔̠̞̻́̈̾̌͂̆̋͒́͘̕͠͝ʎ̵̶̷̨̨̙̘̰̞͉̜̏̒̌̈́͋͋̈́̐̀̿̓̒͌̽̑̕ ̧͓͖̺̦̣͈ ̴̶̷̧̥͓̥̜͖̼̤̖̲͈̦̱̘̣̩̗̜͉̺̆̐͆́̇̑͒̓͝͠ņ̴̶̴̡̨̡̟̺̙̘̣̹̠̫̳͚̗̫̜͇̻̖͍͖̳͙͕̈́̏̇̉͌̆͒͒̉ɹ̸̛̮̪̺͕͖̹̈́̍̌͒̄͑͐̄̍̓ ̶̶̼̮̃͛̽̈̓͐͑̈̄̊͗͂̊ǝ̶̶̵̰̘̲̳̰̫͈̞͙̰̫̠͐̈́͂̑͋͐̌͗͗̅͒̐̅͗̊̈͊̄̍̋̋̕͘͜͜͝ɐ̶̶̶͖͎̘̩̿͌̃̍͒͊̒͌̏̍̾̔͛͊̓͂̂̚n̸͠ ̶̶̡̛̭̹̯̳̪̼̘̭͈̩̺̜͋̾͋̓̂͊͌̎̉̔͒̍̊͒̽̇͛͝͝͠b̶̶̴̥̰̞̮̣̳͖̲̼͍̦̬̫̤̫̗̂̓̆̂̔̑̈́̍̆̾͋̐̆̅̐͝ɐ̸́̔̏̒̏̒̉̋͛̕ ̶̴̢̧͍̘̟̬̲̝̟̥̹̻̹̜̹̱̟͇̐͝ͅʎ̴̶̵̬̞̗̟̥̯̪̪̞̲̦̗͐̾͑̌̑̋́͌͊̑̈́͆̏ͅ ̸̶̶̧̧̯̘̦̠̬̮̗̣̫̘̍̐̈̔͋͛͗̐͂͊͐̊̔͗̀̅̾̆͐̕̕̚͝ͅơ̴̶̷͇͙͈̣̪͇̻̳͓̳̬͓͌̽̄͒͐͂̍̌͗͑̊̂̓̆̎̔̄̚͠ͅɟ̴̜̮̟̹͔̓̇̾̓ ̶̵̡̢̙̻̫̰͇͔͎͓͇̮̤̘̑͑ͅʎ̵̶̸̨͕̳̰̭͙̻̦̖͔͈͎̖̟͓̤̟̬̑͆́͜ɐ̴̶̸̢̧̛̛̤͉̻͕̪̘̖̯͍͑͑̃̅͆̌̑͋͋͑̎͌͊̂̕̚͝͝͠͠ʎ̴̑͋̑̑̏͘ ̶̴̡̼̩̮̼̤͑̈́̃͆̋̋ ̷̶̶̡̪͔͈̪͚̞͍̹̭̣͇̯̿͗͊̽̀̉̃̌̈́̎̑̓̆͑͂̕̚͘͘͜͝ͅɐ̴̶̵̡̹̬͉̟̩͍͓̥̲͕͍͍͕̞͗̂̃͐̈́͌̽̒̄̃̓͘͝͝l̸̶̷̢͎̣̺̤͕͉͇̿̈́̀͒ͅ ̡̨͓̠͚͓͖̪̏̐̒̌͗̿̈̂ɐ̷̶̷̧̢̡̧͍͉͇̙̪͎̩͎̱̖̬͎͙̞̮̰̰̲̫͎̟̜̑̄̈́̍̓͂̂̒́̾̐͗̄̌̄̐̾͆̌̎͆͊̅̇̓̏͐̆͜n̷̼̥͈̩̲͎̾͗́̌͊̕ ̶̸̢̛͔̻̟̜̞̮̘̼̮̱̤̜̩͗͌͂̓̆̃͘͝ɔ̷̶̷̨̬͇̼͇̦̜̖͔͚͍̼̪̞͗́̿̃͋̎͊͌̌̇̉̒̍͆͜͝͠ǝ̶̶̸̡̢̨͈̠̻̟̱͓̲̫͚͈͓̮̦͊͂̅͋̃̒̑̎͝ ̢̡̡̢̩̹̪̼̬͜b̵̶̸̨̢̥̼̲͚̬͚͍̮͇͍͖͙̩̰͙͈̣̳̱̗̈́̓̉͗̇̿̀̈͌̊̔͐̈͗̊͐̕͘͝͝ɐ̶̶̷̧̲̗͍͔̮̤̘̹̿̑̿̊̆͆̇̑̉͊͒̿̚̕͘͝͝͠ͅ ̡̖̭̲̦̮̤̓͊̈́͒̽ʎ̸̶̸̡̢̨̩̜̣̯̪̬͖͓̮̪͚̰͔͙̻͂̂͌͌̔̎̄̎̋̂͂͑͆̆͘̕͠͝͠ ̵̶̴̢̨̲̗͕̣͈͓̰̈́̍͂̏͋̔̐̽͆̾̏̀̈́̈́̀̕͘͘͝͠o̶̶̶̧̧̨͉̘̠͓͇͎̟̮̗͕͍̝̠͆͊̏̌̎̉͆̈́̈̓̂̄̓̈́͘͘ʇ̸̶̵̱̼̗͚̪̱̩̪̒̐̅̂͌̽̈́̌͘ͅ ̨̦͖͇̩͜ɐ̷̶̷̨̢̡̨̧̧̡͙͈̣̥͚̜͔̝̝̻͔̀̎̿́̄̅̔̔͌͆̑̿̔͌̆̈̿͑͋͋͋̐̂̓̈́̕̕͜͝ʎ̸̶̴̛̤̥͎̱̳̗̣͙̙͍͗̂̐̈́̒̑͂̔̍̇̚̚̚͝͝ͅ ̢̧̧̡̺̬̖̖̘̰͕͠** **  
  
And Sapphia reaches up and covers her mouth. ** **"Alright alright, you've made your point."**

Sam rubbed his hands over his face a few times. "Why the fuck does it sound like that!?" He exclaimed.  
Sam's gonna do an arcana check to see if he can determine the cause of the bloody static.

**Sammy tries his hardest to understand where the static is coming from, but only gets a headache. He feels as though the answer is right on the tip of his tongue, but he simply can't connect the dots from point a to point b.** **  
  
Sapphia sighs. ** **"I know it's hard to trust us right now but believe me, we need to get moving before anyone is hurt or worse by Gundren."** **  
  
They lead you outside, where you can kinda follow the charred path on the rocks without much trouble to get out. Once outside, you all can see a huge, burnt path through the forest, leading Gundren back the way you all originally came.**

"unless you gals have a faster mode of travel, get in the dude mobile," he points to the wagon and walks over to the front by his two horses,  
  
_"we need to get back to town right now, it may be scary but I need you guys to chase that flaming dwarf and I promise when this is all over ALL THE APPLES YOU CAN EAT!_"  
  
he hugs midnight and titanium gives them a pat and jumps into the driver's seat, "adventure squad! let's rollout." he cried as dramatically as he could, "we need a team name guys"

Dina did her best to follow along and keep up, but her faith in the women’s' story was confirmed as she saw the burnt forest path where Gundren had gone.  
  
What an arsehole. Seriously. All this for what? She had just wanted to make some gold and fulfill an order, but noooooo! Then there was a Drow, and a stoner, and a cynical wizard, and an adorable devil child, and now instead of getting paid, they had to stop their employer from killing innocent people.  
  
Hooray. This was JUST was she was looking for. And hells, she was still going to do the right thing. That's what soldiers did.  
  
'Every Varrow Must Do His Duty'  
  
How Dina hated that phrase chiseled on the door. And yet here she was, living that out all the same, no matter how much she felt that she could buck tradition.  
  
"Listen, I'll hop up on the wagon, but I need some answers, ladies. If we're not tough enough to take down Gundren, who is? I'm seeing a lot of devastation as long as he roams like that. Are there any weaknesses he has that we can exploit? Does that gauntlet eventually kill its owner anyway?"

At the sound of all the static, Grymm put her pinky in one of her ears and tried to clean it out. Why did she keep hearing fuzz? Obviously she wasn't the only one but it tickled her brain and not in a good way. It made her feel like she needed to scratch the inside of her head and that was a very unpleasant feeling.  
  
She heard Sam's expletive and kicked the back of his leg gently. "Don't make them tell you why it'll probably just sound fuzzy again! And don't say that word, it's not nice."  
  
Grymm climbed up the wagon with some effort and sat next to Dina. She would never admit it, but she was scared. That dwarf looked powerful after grabbing the gauntlet. Her recent graze with death left her with a scar on her chest and a scar in her memories. She had seen something in that void and she couldn't quite remember what it was. When she tried to think about it, it gave her that itchy brain feeling but she couldn't help but feel that it was something that she _needed_ to remember. Without realizing it, she had grabbed Dina's hand for comfort.

Sam moved silently with the others. He had a lot to think about. What exactly was going on? What was in that vault? What the heck was that gauntlet? Why couldn't his mind understand? And what was his sister doing here? What did she know and how? And just how had he gotten himself into this mess to begin with! He could've been back for n the pub, cleaning dishes and he would've been fine! He climbed into the wagon and leaned up against something and just closed his eyes. He needed time to process all of this.

**Sapphia nudges Killian as if to say, I'll take this one, before speaking very carefully, stopping here and there as if pick and choosing her words. ** **"We, don't know a lot about the-glove. We do think we can try to talk him down, or even get him away from town maybe before he can do a ton of damage. Just, none of us can touch it. It, can control? "** ** She hesitates, thinking over her words. ** **"Control seems to work. Uh, it can control you. In bad ways."** **  
  
Killian huffs. ** **"I don't understand how you're so much better at that than me. All of you are."** ** And Sapphia just chuckles a bit. ** **"You're more of a Killian rushes in kinda gal, just leave the talking to the rest us and stay our heavy hitter."** **  
They both freeze a moment as if remembering something, and share a sad glance before Killian gives her side pack a pat and looks out the front of the wagon.  
  
Going down the road as fast as Bob's Horses will take them, about four or five miles from Phandalin the group crests a hill and you can see one of the most harrowing signs of destruction that Gundren has wrought. Everything else has been just, some burnt trees while blazing a path towards Phandalin. But here as you look down you see a convoy of wagons that had been completely destroyed. At some point you assume there was a tarp covering them, but now just the framing of the wagons remains. There are a few cinders still burning in some of the wood of these wagons. They’re completely destroyed. And you see laid out next to them a few charred bodies that you make out to actually be orcish.  
  
And while Gundren is nowhere to be seen, he's moved on, you see that there are living people here. Even from 80 feet away they look to be scavengers, picking over the remains of the wagons. In what you assume is their own wagon, as it's the only one not destroyed, is a cage with an adolescent orc boy sitting quietly in it. Killian sees this and gets a face. ** **"Aw, aw man guys. I know we're in a hurry but. . ."** **  
Sapphia gives her arm a squeeze. ** **"Yeah, it's up to you all, really."**

Sam remained silent, but opened one eye. He waited to see what the others would do. At the moment, he was feeling a familiar sense of tiredness, he could feel that the bags under his eyes were swollen.

Dina boarded the wagon and was pleasantly surprised to note Grymm's action. She exhaled and gave the child a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, Grymm. It's frightening...but we can always find a way. My family always told me not to be scared, but that's the worst possible advice I've ever received. I was horrified the first time I saw a line of orcs charging our formation. It would be silly NOT to feel that way. What matters isn't what we FEEL, but what we DO. Terror can cripple you. But you can also use that emotion to increase your caution or your sense of organization. Many people under stress simply repeat their training. " Truth be told, Dina was someone who bottled up all those emotions and then just let them out in one glorious explosion. "We will always feel frightened by something. It will bring out either the worst in us or the best in us."  
  
Dina had no idea how prescient her words would be as the wagon arrived on the charred landscape. Her eyes quickly scanned the charred landscape in front of her and her range of emotions was wide. At first there was a genuine terror of the great power that had been unleashed. Then it was followed by curiosity regarding the dead bodies. That was followed by...well, almost a guilty joy. They were orcs. Filthy, murderous creatures who had felled many good soldiers, family members, and comrades, and even had the sickening habit of taking bones of the fallen and using them as macabre decorations. Filthy buggers, all of them, and they deserved to rot just like...  
  
...Moradin's balls!  
  
They had a kid in a cage. Mothersodding donkeybuggering troll arse chafing goblin shite! Now it wasn't easy to feel what she wanted to!  
  
Were orcs inherently horrible people? Gods she wanted to believe that. Dina had seen horrible, murderous conduct from all of them. Even the best were still shite people. But she had never met a child. Could she truly say that a child was an evil creature, damned to wickedness, cursed from birth?  
  
Or was this person still innocent? And was she a shite person herself for judging all of them this way.  
  
Dina sighed. This was what she got for having a cleric in the family. She tapped the Dude on the shoulder to ask him to stop for a moment. If only to prove to Grymm how people were supposed to treat one another, it was enough. Hopping off her seat, Dina approached the cage. "Hey, kid? What's your name? What in blazes happened here?" She paused and looked around "Name's Dina, by the way. Know where the keys are?"

**As Dina walks forward the scavengers –who up close you see are dressed very raggedly but have quite a few swords and daggers on them– step in between you and the orc boy. "Oh hey now slow your roll partner. We got this boy fair and square. Ain't our doing that caused this massacre, we just pick up the pieces."  
One of the others speaks up. "What're you even gonna do with an orc boy huh? Train him up to be your ward? He's not some pet dog you can take care of."**

  
"And you think that you can? I mean, you do realize that you have him in a cage, like a pet dog. I haven't given any thought to much of anything you've said because frankly, from where I'm standing, you have a slave back there."  
  
Dina let that word permeate a bit before she moved on. "I knew a bunch of Drow who were slavers. We didn't get along very well. Especially after I bashed the ringleader's skull open. Messy business, that was. Be a shame to repeat it."  
  
The dwarf motioned over to the cage. "I want to hear it from his mouth. I asked him several questions and I need answers."

**The scavenger boss blinks. Then he takes a step backward, his men share unnerved glances with each other. "Alright Alright, no need to get violent little lady. Just honest folks tryna make a livin' in this cold hard world. Surely ya'll can relate to that."** **  
  
The orc boy glances up at you Dina, then at a small table in the wagon next to him. He doesn't say a word.**

Robert lit his pipe and watched the situation unfold from the driver seat of his wagon with a smile in his face.  
  
"What are you so happy about? We have a world-destroying fireball man headed to town, remember?" Sammy grumbled in the back, "this day I tell you..." he sighed rubbing his forehead  
  
"All true Mr. Sassifrey, I was just really taking a liking to our new dwarven companion is all," he replied puffing away at his pipe. "She has told us much about her hatred of Orcs and her history with them, you can see what lesser person with those feeling would do," he motioned to the scattered charred bodies around them, "but our warrior woman does indeed seem to have a heart of gold," he smiled again broadly, "I like that"  
  


"if you love her so much why don't you go marry her." Sam grumbled to himself. He tilted his hat ever farther down over his face and tried to ignore the world.

**Sapphia huffs and pulls Sammy's hat completely over his head, getting it stuck there.****"Watch yourself Sammykins. Or I will magic you into taking a nap."****  
  
**"you know that'd be great actually." Sam replied as he yawned and slouched down further.

**Dina meanwhile finds the key to the cage on the desk the boy had pointed to. Freeing him however, he gives Dina a nod, eyes the scavengers warily for a minute before walking off into the woods on his own. The scavengers seem upset about this, but decide that maybe its time to move on, starting to pack up what they had to leave again.** **  
  
Killian nudges Bob, ** **"Awesome, glad that was settled. Actually kind of impressive considering I was just gonna shoot him with a crossbow."**

**  
Sapphia laughed.** **"That's your solution to everything."** **She teased.** **   
  
**

**"Hey! It works like 80 percent of the time!"**

The dude whistled loudly to get the groups attention, "hey Dina it would be a bit of a squeeze in the wagon but you can bring him along, we can drop him off in town we gotta catch up to Mr. Rockseeker, these men are just opportunist, they won't throw there lives away so readily trying to fight professionals I figure" he said with malicious grin as he grabbed his staff and it began to glow with sylvan power.

Dina nodded to El Duderino.  
  
Was this real life? Did she truly just put herself out there for a damned orc?  
  
Yes, that looked like what it was. But it was also a child in a cage, kept like an animal. And that was wrong, orc or no. Was he going to grow up and murder a bunch of dwarves and elves? Possibly. Then again, maybe Dina would have, too, if she'd lived like that.  
  
She looked around for keys to the cage, not even knowing if they were around, but she moved closer to the cage.  
  
"Hey, kid? Did you hear me? I'm going to get you out of there. I'm no slaver nor am I a scavenger. I just don't want to see you in that. We're trying to stop the man who did all of this. We're a nice enough group. You have somewhere to go, kid? If not, you can hop on the wagon."

Grymm listened as intently as she could to Dina's lesson about life, though around halfway through her eyes started to glaze over as she became sidetracked with thinking about her own past experiences with being treated differently. Dina had basically told her that no one should be judged by their outward appearance and she knew that. But why did others seem to not get that lesson?  
  
There were some, like the owner of the tavern near her alley, who treated her kindly even though she was a "horrifying mutant", as some had put it. He was the first to allow her to stay in the alley without shooing her away and would even bring her food at times. He claimed they were leftover from the night before but the meals always came out hot and delicious. She began to suspect that he set aside a meal for her some nights and she was grateful for his kindness.  
  
Pulling herself from her thoughts, Grymm glared at the ruffians as they backed off from the cage, however she didn't move from her spot on the wagon. Her eyes followed the young orc as he ran into the woods and she felt an amalgamation of relief and sadness. She knew he would never lead a normal life but at least he was no longer locked in a cage. There was nothing left to do now but face the powerful dwarf and get that glove off of him. She suddenly had a sinking, dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't explain.  
  
She turned to the ruffians, "You...you better get outta' here before Dina smashes your butts! We have bigger problems to deal with. Bigger problems other than you rat-lickers!"

Dina sighed as the orc rushed off into the woods. Had she done the right thing? Was in caged because he was a criminal or a killer? Would this kid grow up to become a raider and murder elves, humans, halflings, and dwarves in various settlements?  
  
That voice in the back of her mind would not leave her alone. She was forced to shrug and admit that perhaps she had permitted a greater evil to happen.  
  
Then again, that child might remember a hated enemy sticking up for him. Would he really believe the horrible things orcs said about elves and dwarves if life experiences taught him differently? She hoped not.  
  
"Well, I guess that's that." She hopped up on the wagon again and took her seat next to Grymm. As they rode along, Dina admitted to the group, "I've no idea if I did the right thing or not. That kid could still grow up to be a hateful, slaying orc that will fell my countrymen. But it just felt...WRONG...to see him in a cage with the scavengers picking over him. We take care of the kids in our clans. They always have something to do and they're with someone. Maybe it's why I turned out better than orcs did. Hells, I don't know."  
  
She unconsciously grasped her dented holy symbol of Moradin around her neck as she spoke before tucking it in under her clothing.

**Your group finally enters into Phandalin at dusk. While you made good time, the burnt path leading into town shows Gundren beat you here. Luckily, the road is wide, and no buildings have been damaged, but it's clear everyone knows how bad things could break. It's silent in the town, besides one place. The local bar where the path ends burning through the door. You can't really see inside, but not because it's dark, but it's too bright inside to make anything out. Inside you hear the voice of Barry Bluejeans shouting, then he comes barreling out, ducking to dodge a fireball as he runs towards you.** **  
  
He sees your group and says: ** **"Oh, my Istus, you're back! You guys, you gotta help me, I’ve never seen him like this— well, obviously, I’ve never seen him engulfed in flames and all magical and crap, but if things are really bad, you guys, you gotta calm him down."** **  
  
And Killian says:** ** "You would be wise to listen to him, we can’t fight him right now. If we try to fight him, we’re gonna lose. He’s more powerful than anybody you guys have ever met. That’s not an empty promise, he will incinerate anybody who defies him. We gotta calm him down and try and get that glove off of him."** **  
  
Sapphia starts towards the bar, intending to start negotiations, but Gundren comes out first. He looks, worse somehow, as if the glove's power was eating away at him slowly. His voice is distorted, crackling like the fire he's been engulfed in.  
** **"Why would you wanna stop me? I finally have enough power to get rid of those god damn orcs!"**

"Welp, toys out of the pram I see" the dude said to get the dwarf's attention. "Hey Gundren, been busy since we last saw you huh, murdering folks, burning the forest and whatnot" he said a bit of anger in his voice as he put down his staff and took out his pipe to light.  
  
"Now you're a mighty powerful man, that's plain as day and I'm sure as shit you could turn me to ash with a wave of that there gauntlet, but seeing as I saved your life and all, back in wave echo I was hoping you would at least let me say my peace." Robert got down from the wagon, leaving his staff behind, fighting would not be the answer he agreed with the others on that point.  
  
"Pardon my saying so boss but you're being an ass," Bob said with as brave a face as he could, he knew he was gambling his life on this one but he meant every word he was about to say.  
  
"You have at least one brother back at the cave, dead lying under a tarp, we didn't have time to perform a proper funeral for him with you in danger and it wasn't orcs that killed him, your old man died in that cave too and wasn't orc that killed him either, from the looks of it and it was that gauntlet you got on" Bob paused took a pull from his pipe, and choose his next words very carefully  
  
"I get that you're anger Gundren, I have traveled these lands a long time, seen a lot of suffering, seen a lot of hurt and angry people, killing a bunch of orcs ain't gonna make the world a better place, hatred begets more hatred, killing begets more killing and the cycle continues, even if we don't stop you, even if you hunt down every damn orc, what then, there will always be people trying to stop you people out to get you, someone to fight someone to kill. Violence is never an answer, not a good one anyway," he paused again hoping his words would sink in "heck that mostly the reason I left the church to travel the world, too much damn hate, not nearly enough love... and it's especially stupid when you have a goddamn gold mine sitting right up there in those hills!"  
  
At the mention of a goldmine Gundren raised an eyebrow, gold always got a dwarf's attention he knew but before he could respond the dude cut him off.  
  
"and I ain't talking about the vault if that's what your thinking," the dude pulled out the waterskin he had filled from the stream in wave echo "I filled this water back in a pond in the mine, and it's damn near the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The whole cave is magic the water that flows through it has healing properties, try it for yourself," he tossed the waterskin to Gundren's feet, "do you know how much good you could go with that, do you know how much people would pay for actual miracle water?! you could start your own damn bottle business, fill the whole damn vault up with gold if you want, provide jobs, heal people, would make the world a hell of a lot better place than going around killing orcs, ... not to mention... I think the gauntlets killing you Mr. Rockseeker you're gonna end up like you dad, Is that how you want your line to end, how you want it to be remembered... take off the gauntlet and let's go finish that funeral for your brother, huh what do you say?" he dude said as kindly as he could, extending his arm, "this day has been terrible enough hasn't it?"

**Gundren hesitates, the flames dying down as he listened to your speech. At the mention of removing the gauntlet, his eyes furrowed and he was back to inferno mode. ** **"You, you think you can trick me with your fancy speeches. ** **I see through it all! This glove is MINE.** **"** **  
As he speaks his flames seem to be growing brighter, and hotter, beginning to turn from a yellowish orange into a bright blue.**

Grymm pulled her hand from Dina's (when had she grabbed her hand? She hadn't noticed) and hopped down from the wagon and ran over next to Bob. She wasn't sure what she could do to help but she had noticed others had hesitated to continue with their violence in the past due to her mere presence. She was not sure why, maybe she just had a way with words.  
  
"Mr. Gundren, sir..." She made her eyes as large as they could be, batted her eyelashes and allowed her bottom lip to quiver a little. That last part wasn't too hard to pull off - she was actually pretty scared.  
  
"It's me, sir, Grymm. You are clearly very powerful but I'm afraid that the gauntlet is taking over your brain. I don't remember you being so angry. Remember when we met - umm - at the tavern? You told me that I was too little to handle the amount of danger that would be a part of this mission and do you remember what I said? I said, 'I think that if someone believes in themselves, tries hard, and surrounds themselves with great friends, they can face anything that comes their way - any bad guy will pee-pee themselves in scaredness if they see enough heart and willpower in your eyes.' So, you don't need that glove to avenge anyone. You have friends here - you have family that will help you fight; help you survive; help you deal with your problems. Take the glove off, come to your friends, and give me a big hug. I promise, you'll feel better afterward."  
  
She opened her arms as wide as they would go as his raging fire reflected back at him in the pools of her eyes. As she tried her best to look as adorable as possible, a faint sound of tinkling, melodic bells began to fill the air.

**As Grymm speaks, the flames begin to slowly cool and die down, enough that while he is still on fire, you can see that all his hair has been burnt off, and he looks like he's been lying in the sun for two days with how red he looks. ** **"Maybe, you all are right, I'm not setting the best example for the kid either. I should calm down, not give the glove away, just take it off for a minute."** ** He looks now like he's trying to convince himself as if it's a battle to even control his own voice.** **  
  
You all breathe a sigh of relief, and Grymm smiles wide, opening her arms somehow wider before you all hear the whistling sound of an arrow, then a [thunk]. Gundren takes a sudden step forward, gasping, and he reached over his back, turning slightly so you can see the arrow lodged there he's trying to remove.**

Dina spun quickly a mouthed a curse though she held back in front of Grymm. She was angry, though. Livid that after the kid had done such a great job and calmed down Gundren that SOMEONE had to shoot him just as he was willing to sit down and talk.  
  
Who had done it, though? She had to find the person and did her best to scan the nearby areas.

**On the edge of the town, Dina you see a young orc boy. Holding a crossbow pointed at Gundren. When he sees you looking at him Dina, he gives a quick nod, before disappearing into the woods.** **  
  
At first, Gundren is just sort of stunned, then he's completely engulfed in flames. His arms become two columns of fire, and more whips and sparks are flying off of him and cutting the buildings around in half.  
He screams, in the same almost possessed voice he had before: ** **"Who did this!"** **  
  
Barry holds up his hands kind of placatingly, and says: ** **"Wasn't me!"** ** And Gundren takes a look at him, before slamming a firey hand down on Barry, flattening him into the ground.** **   
  
** **"Killian, the well."** **  
Sapphia grabs ahold of Sammy's hand and takes off as Killian says, ** **"Time to go!"** ** And runs towards the center of town. Gundren keeps growing as flames surround him as Killian grows more and more frantic: ** **"C'mon c'mon c'mon! Get to the well Get to the well! Get to the well!"**

**"Aaaand we're doing this again!"** He exclaims, while being dragged along by his much stronger sister. 

  
Dina looked back at the orc kid, unable to know still if she had done the right thing or not. On the one hand, she didn't blame him for being angry with Gundren. He'd probably killed many things in his wake. On the other...he was just getting ready to give back the glove and...  
  
Hells, this wasn't the time to ponder her navel.  
  
"Yup, headed there now!!" Dina cried out, quite happy for the speed those new boots were giving her at a time like this.

"CALM DOWN GUNDREN!!! IT'S JUST AN ARROW, I CAN HEAL YOU!," he shouted over the roaring flames as he ran back to the wagon for his staff, '_Damn it all to hell, if he had just kept he staff with him_ he thought, he could have stopped the blasted arrow with a shield spell, not that he knew the spell but he could have done something damn it, he wasn't paying attention, he hadn't seen the orc kid Dina saved lining up the shot, _damn it all_.  
  
  
He unhitched both horses from the wagon with a swift slash of his staff, "run girls, get as far as away as you can" he said as he ran back to toward Gundren. He looked at the burn smear that was Barry Blue jeans, there was nothing he could do for him, and for some reason despite barely knowing the man, it bothered him greatly. Just then he noticed Gyrmm, shaking her hands still spread as if to hug Gundren, frozen.  
  
"Get to the damn well with the others Grymm, I'll try to slow him down" as he ran past her, she snapped out of it and grabbed on to his robes,  
  
"No, I'm not leaving you behind, If you're staying so am I!" brave defiance in her eyes  
  
"... look we don't have time to argue ..." just then Gundren let out another roars the flames expanding further out from him, a shockwave shaking the ground.  
  
Bob knew Grymm would not leave him, he didn't have time to reason with her and time was definitely something they didn't have.  
  
" ... Screw it ..." he ran, throwing Grymm over his shoulder and made for the well as fast as he could.

**Sapphia stops by the well as Killian grabs a feather duster from her bag, the same one you saw at the cave. She taps herself with it, then shoots off four more, surrounding everyone but Sapphia in a silvery grey light.** **   
** **"Sapphia!"** **   
** **"Yup."** **  
Sapphia lets Killian pick her up princess-style, and jump into the well. From down below, you hear Killian yelling panicked for you all to follow and quickly.  
  
Exchanging a glance with each other but not seeing a second option, you jump down after her.  
  
It's about 40 feet down altogether, as you fall slowly you look up at the small circle of light and see the night sky turning red. You hear one final scream from Gundren, fearful yet full of rage. Then the sky is blotted out, and all you see is flame above you. White-hot flames that roar, and it's the loudest sound any of you have ever heard in your lives. It lasts for about a minute and a half, threatening to leave your ears ringing when it finally subsides.  
  
You hear a quiet, ** **"Aw crap."** ** And look over at Killian, who pretty much everyone landed on in the well, and is currently unconscious. Sapphia is gently patting her face, opening her eyes and in general, looking worried over her health.**

**Sam looking at Killian, you can see a bump on her head, and with the way you all fell, it's likely she has a concussion from hitting the side of the well too hard. Sapphia looks up at the sky, then back to all of you and gives a wry grin. ** **"So, does anyone have levitate or something? Maybe a rope?"**

**Dina nods, climbing up the sides of the wall and then letting a rope down for the rest of you. Together you lift the konked out Killian and make her comfy on the now glass ground. Looking around as you all finally take a moment to gather your bearings, you realize surrounding you all, instead of Phandalin, is a perfect circle of black glass. In the center, is a charred, dwarven figure with his hand sticking up in the air, wearing a silvery gauntlet.**

Dina climbed out and helped the others exit the well, though once she had done so, she stared in awe at the glassy black rock now all around.  
  
It was a surreal feeling. She knew quite well that many lives had been quickly extinguished, at least those who did not leave in time, and that was sad. But another part of her admittedly stood in awe of the entire spectacle. She had heard old tales from 300 years ago of mighty dwarves that slew ancient red wyrms, and how those beasts lived near volcanoes with shiny black dragonglass. Was this what they were referring to?  
  
"Terrible shame. Like father, like son. And for what?" Dina looked to the others. "So I know that we need to get the gauntlet and make sure that no one ever uses it again. And I'd volunteer, but I'm inclined to think it drives my people insane, and I don't wish to be the next great charcoal statue."

"Yeah how about we don't touch the magical artifact of doom."  
Sam is going to try to get a look at it without getting too close, to see if he can maybe figure out anything about it.

Grymm crawled out of the well that had protected them from the blast. She looked around at all of the blackened glass with sorrow in her eyes. How many people had just died because of that stupid orc boy? She was so close to getting Gundren to take the gauntlet off with the power or her hug and he had to go and ruin everything.  
  
Her eyes started to well up with angry tears but she quickly used the back of her hand to wipe them away. No, she would not be the crying child. She would be the strong adventurer who stared death in the eye and accepted it when it came - whether for others or for herself. She glared at the charred corpse or Gundren and began to walk over, stopping about 25 feet away.  
  
The tears in Grymm's eyes spilled over now, but she once again wiped them away, this time with the sleeve of her dress. "Now what?" She asked, voice cracked with emotion. "He's destroyed the whole town and himself and we have nothing to show for any of this. And...and I know Dina doesn't want to touch the big gauntlet but...we have to do something with it. But, what? Where are we even supposed to go next?" The idea that the quest was over for them started to set in. Did this mean her friends would leave? Did this mean that she needed to go back to her alley?

The dude stood in stunned silence for a long time his mouth agape. He walked over to where he had left his wagon and slowly skunk to the ground, grasping at his staff.  
  
Grymm noticed him slumped over and went to his side but Sammy put a hand on her shoulder and gently stopped her, "**He just lost, his home and all his paintings, you might want to give him a moment,**,"  
  
Dina walked up behind Bob, "el Duderio, we should see about the gauntlet ...,"  
  
"They only had two months left on their contract," he muttered  
  
"..."  
  
"Titanium and Midnight, they only had two months left working with me, they were going to join the wild herds to the north together, Midnight was with me for almost three years ... you know she didn't really like Titanium when I first got her... I'm sorry, I'm rambling" he said his back still turned, wiping his face and getting to his feet, "right... the gauntlet" he said his eye seemed redder than normal as he stood.  
  
"You, Up!," he pointed to Killian, "You two have some explaining to do" he motioned at Killian and Sapphia, "None of that static nonsense this time,"  
  
from his staff, a bolt of radiant magic flew at the ashen statue of Gungren Rockseeker  
  
"Spit and ash make ink, write it out" he growled a bit angrier than he intended.

**Sammy, trying to think about the gauntlet, it looks familiar like you've seen it before. But trying to push any further begins to give you a headache, and any attempt to push past the pain only makes it worse.  
  
Sapphia helps Killian up as she gets her bearings, looking around you can see the moment her face falls as Killian realizes what happened. Hearing your question, both Killian and Sapphia look frustrated.  
  
** **"Look, how many times do we have to tell you that we literally can't tell you anything. We can't tell you any helpful information!"** **  
Sapphia nods, ** **"Writing won't help. Any form of communication will be blocked."** **  
  
They watch you shoot the bolt, Sapphia flinching a moment when wave the staff at her and as you fire. Following your pointing, though, her and Killians eyes widen, and they both physically take a step back.  
  
** **"Oh, oh my Istus, get, Sammy, get away from that! You too Grymm!"** **   
** **"I know for a fact I said it earlier, that, that thing is incredibly dangerous, you need to move away. You saw what it did to Gundren and his father."**

**Sammy grabs Grymm by the hand and leads her away from the gauntlet. ** **"Whatever that thing is, it's way beyond my understanding of magic. Usually for something like that, we'd have to put it in a lead-lined box and put it in a heavily protected vault somewhere."** ** He sighed. ** **"So what do you propose we do? We can't just leave this thing here."**

**The two women share a look before Sapphia pulls out a carved stone from a necklace around her neck and taps it a couple of times. In the sun, what looks like a simple silver and sapphire ring hangs as well, those that notice easily recognize it as an engagement ring. ** **"I'll make the call."** **  
  
Killian nods as Sapphia walks a small distance away and starts talking into it. ** **"We work for a certain organization that wants to protect the world from objects like this. We have a way to destroy it, just . . ."** ** She glances over, taking another step away and looking back at you all quickly as if trying to avoid staring directly at it. ** **"Just gotta figure out how to get it up there."**

Sam notices the ring his sister has. A note for later when they finally have that conversation. "Up where?" he inquires.

**Killian grins. ** **"You'll see. The three-four, of you, were amazing stopping Brian. I think you'd make a good addition, Sapphia's letting our superiors know and asking permission to bring you up."** **  
  
Grymm, when you got closer, you heard the glove. It was like something was pulling you towards it. Even as Sammy led you away, you could hear it, some strange calling. It was like the gauntlet itself was whispering in your ears. ** ** _"Oh young one, I'll bet you've faced so much pain and discrimination in your life. A sorcerer like yourself is sure to be strong enough to hold me. Put me on, and together you can have the power to force acceptance into the world. No one will ever feel ashamed or scared again. Just pick me up. Have faith in yourself."_ **

** **

Dina walked over to El Duderino and put a hand on his shoulder. ”Dude. I’m terribly sorry for everything you’ve lost. It sucks. It sucks dragon gonads. I have no other way of expressing it. I’ll never really understand the value of all your things the way that you do and I won’t claim I get it. But I know what it is to lose. And how much it hurts.”  
  
Dina sighed. “For the rest of my life, I’m going to wonder if saving that kid was right. I thought it was. Gods it felt right. But was that stupid kid the reason why Gundren went off and all this devastation happened? Maybe I’ll never know. But damn if it doesn’t hurt.”  
  
“I lost a lot of people I love in the wars with the orcs. Good soldiers. Friends. Family. All back to the stone now. Far too many for my age. I don’t even know why I’m here and they aren’t. All I can say is that I have to keep walking. They wouldn’t like me to do anything less. Would those beautiful animals want you to do anything less than be the Dude they knew and loved?”

Perhaps it was the idea of going back to the alley that made the Gauntlet's words ring true in her mind. If she went back there, she would be treated poorly again. She would sleep on the cold stone of the Alley. She would be mistreated by the local populace because of how she looked. She hated that so much.  
  
Sam would notice that Grymm's hand slipped from his easily as she began walking back towards the shiny glove. Her eyes were sparkling in a sort of trance and her movements belayed no intention of slowing down or stopping. However, when she reached the damaged statue her head shook and she blinked a few times. Something had pulled her out of it. It was a voice that she couldn't remember anymore. A voice that gave her a headache whenever she tried to recall it. Whoever it was, it kept her in that moment from taking the glove for herself.  
  
Instead, she reached up with the hooked end of the umbrella and snatched it off of the ashen statue and held it in front of her as she turned back to the group. "I got it." She said simply.

Sam whips around when he feels Grymm's hand leave his own. He saw his fear coming true as Grymm wandered towards the gauntlet. He shouted at her a few times to try to break her away from whatever was drawing her that way. He watched in horror as she picked up the gauntlet with her umbrella and.... nothing happened. He takes a few deep breaths. "Grymm can we put the deadly artifact down please." he says trying to sound like he's holding it together.

Grymm shook her head sadly at Sam as she pulled off her patchwork backpack and shoved the gauntlet inside with the handle of the Umbrella. She then used that same handle to close the top of the backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "No, Sam. I have it and we need to get it somewhere safe. Look at me, all of you. We are responsible for this. All of these people...dead. We should have been faster. We should have seen what was going to happen. But we didn't. And now...now this place is one big glass graveyard. I don't know about the rest of you, but I will never let this happen again. Killian, where will this gods damned glove never see the light of day ever again?"  
  
As she spoke, tears ran down her cheeks and dropped from her rounded chin and onto her white dress, leaving small wet stains like raindrops on the lacy frills. She walked back towards the party. She was so tired but this anger and sadness drove her forward. She wouldn't be able to sleep until this glove was gone forever.

**Sapphia finished her call, tapping her bracer twice. ** **"Transport on its way, I'm going ahead to make sure everything is clear."** **   
** **"Right, uh. " ** **Killian stumbled, clearly unsure how to handle to the weepy yet determined child. ** **"Look, I can't say, exactly where it is, but trust me, its kinda pretty freakin cool." ** **She taps her bracer twice as well.**

Sam looked around at his companions. it didn't take a genius to notice how affected they were by the events that had taken place here. He sighed. Always assuming the worst, being in the lowest place, this was all in his wheelhouse. Though he had to admit this was a pretty terrible situation. One that he hadn't had time to properly process. He had so many questions, there was so much he was unsure of. He looked around at the glass around him and a thought occurred to him. If he hadn't gone with these folks, if he had stayed behind to work at the inn for another day, he would've been reduced to ashes. Sam rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Right. Let's get this over with then."

"Thanks, Dee, of course your right ... " Bob said with a heavy sigh, "... it's just ... ah nevermind ..."  
  
"No, go-ahead" she insisted  
  
"I had a really nice rug in the wagon, I know it's silly but ... it really tied a room together, you know," he said with a weak attempt at humor and a forced but pained smile.

"I know hun, I know. And it will take a bit. I'm sorry it happened bud. Wish I could make it all go away. But think on the bright side. At least we made it. And that means another day."  
  
Dina was going to say more to the Dude when she turned around to see Grymm take the gauntlet and her eyes widened like saucers. She rushed over to make eye contact with the girl.  
  
"Moradin's twisted arse hairs, you have the gauntlet. Grymm...whatever you do...DON'T put it on.."  
  
The dwarf stopped for a moment when she realized that Grymm had overcome the temptation of the gauntlet. "Gods...you resisted. What a girl. Damn...mad respect." She patted Grymm on the shoulder. "All right. Let's get rid of that cursed gauntlet and be done with it forever."

Grymm wiped her eyes with the back of her hand again, clearing the angry tears from her face. This was no time to cry, that was for babies and she was no baby. She looked to Dina and nodded, "I'm not gonna' put it on. I'm gonna' take it wherever Killian says we can be rid of it. Then, we are gonna' have a ummm a funeral for Mr. Barry."  
She walked over to Bob, the gauntlet still secure in her backpack and she kneeled next time him. She leaned over and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Dude. I can help you build a new one. And this time I'll make it super-duper strong."

**Sapphia watches, a soft smile on her face before Killian nudges her, gesturing up. Approaching from up above, you see a round object burst through the clouds, heading towards the side of the sphere, near where Sapphia had been standing earlier. She heads towards it. ** **"I'll meet you guys up there, just going ahead to make sure everything is in order."** ** And before you can say anything the side of the glass sphere opens, and Sapphia steps into it. The door seals behind her, and lifts back up, passing by a second glass sphere that lands in the same spot.** **  
  
Killian motions you all towards it. ** **"Well, that's our ride."**

Without a word, and with a few ounces of curiosity, Sam stepped into the orb.

**Inside is four seats arranged around the sides of the sphere, inside you can see that it's like a kind of one-way glass. You can see outside the sphere perfectly, yet the outside seems to be almost a mirror image of the world around it. One thing is for sure, that it is bigger on the inside than the outside.**

Sam looks around the inside of the strange orb. _What an interesting construct._ He thinks to himself, his mind races with theories about how this thing might work and what kind of enchantments might make it work. Was this an extra-planar device? After all he was a student of magic, and new magic things always fascinated him. He finally took a seat in one of the available chairs.

Dina shook her head in wonder at the bizarre craft as she boarded it. This was...not what she expected. And I flew? Did it get launched from a catapult or something?  
  
Well, whatever. They needed to leave and to destroy that gauntlet.

Grymm dried her eyes at the sight of the large mirrored ball, temporarily distracted. She stood outside of it and waved her arms around, staring at the distorted image of herself. She actually giggled and wobbled her head back and forth, watching as her reflection moved with her.  
  
After a little time of entertaining herself, she stepped inside with her mouth agape. "Wowwww, this is actually like pretty cool. Are we going to go into the sky? Like, umm like to the stars!?" She asked with amazement.

**Killian grinned, climbing in behind everyone and then making a blank face. ** **"So to speak, oh, uh. I forgot they only have four seats." ** **She turned to Grymm a moment, then looked at Sammy. ** **"Uh, you might have to hold your kid on your lap."**

Dina snickered.  
  
”Yes, Sam. You want your daughter to be safe for the entire ride. Goodness knows that we must our safety first.”  
  
Sam was Grymm’s daddy. Oh boy was that rich.

Sam sighed "She's not mine. And she's capable of making her own decisions."

**Killian looked at Grymm again, then at Bob, who shook his head. She shrugged. ** **"Uh, well, she's gonna have to be on someone's lap. It's really safe to be walking around during the flight. I don't care who's I guess."**

Dina smirked.  
  
"Hey, I'll take her if Dad is a bit busy right now. Grymm, you pick wherever."

Grymm gave Killian a dull look and shook her head, "I'm NOT a kid. I'm just a fun-sized adult. I mean...unless you want everyone to know that a 'kid' handled Brian when you couldn't..." She gave a sly smirk and looked between Sam and Dina. "I'll sit on Dina's lap. But I'm doing it because I CHOOSE to sit there not because anyone is telling me to. Just sayin'..."  
  
Feeling justified, she sits down on Dina's lap and leans back into her chest. She reached up and gathered her hair together and draped it over her left shoulder so it wouldn't fly into Dina's face and looked expectantly through the viewport. "Up, up, and away!"

The dude got into the sphere without saying a word, still seemly shaken from the experience, he sat a buckled his seat belt, absently biting on his pipe, not bothering to light it in the enclosed space and staring off into the distance. A faint smile at Grymm and Dina was all he could muster.

**Killian took her seat as the sphere sealed shut behind Bob. Then without any direction from her part, you begin to rise into the air. Looking around you as you go higher, what's left of Phandalin is a morbid beauty to behold. The sky is reflecting off of the smooth circle of glass, showing the stars beginning to show in the night sky. The sunset is clear to see from your height, being far above the trees.** **  
  
Slowly, you approach the second moon in the sky, noticing it get larger and larger until you finally realize, it can't be the moon, it's too big. Then, a second thought, when did a second moon appear in the first place?  
  
You watch as a small hole opens in the bottom of the moon, and you float into it. The last thing you see before you are plunged into darkness is Killian's wide grin.  
  
** **"Welcome to the moon.”**


End file.
